FRAMATOME, VIGINUM & STORMSHIELD at AI for Industry by Artefact – Sovereignty: your competitors are listening. What to do and how?

The session featured experts from Framatome, Viginum, and Stormshield, discussing how AI is impacting cybersecurity, digital sovereignty, and information warfare. The panelists explored the growing threats of foreign digital interference and the role of AI in both exploiting and defending against these risks.

Framatome’s representative outlined three key cybersecurity levels: technical solutions, internal best practices, and attack anticipation. While technical measures like firewalls are common, companies often overlook enforcing strict internal behaviors. AI is seen as an enabler to improve detection, prevention, and response across all three levels. Ensuring employees understand the importance of cybersecurity is critical for preventing vulnerabilities like phishing attacks.

Viginum, France’s national agency for detecting foreign digital interference, is dedicated to protecting public debates, particularly during elections. The speaker highlighted how malicious actors use AI to create synthetic content, such as deepfakes, which can disrupt democratic processes. The challenge lies in distinguishing between authentic and synthetic content, as these AI-generated posts can significantly influence public opinion. Viginum focuses on developing tools to label and detect inauthentic content and maintain transparency in public debates.

Stormshield, a cybersecurity provider, explained how AI is used to enhance malware detection through behavior analysis. While large-scale AI-driven attacks are not yet common, the company focuses on using AI to improve their products and anticipate future threats. AI allows them to identify malware based on how it behaves within IT systems. Additionally, they stressed the risk that cybercriminals could use AI to develop sophisticated malware capable of evading traditional detection methods. AI becomes essential for staying ahead in this ongoing cybersecurity battle.

Both Viginum and Stormshield emphasized the threat of AI-driven disinformation. AI-generated fake news and deep fakes pose serious challenges for digital sovereignty and public trust. AI allows malicious actors to create convincing fake content that can influence public opinion, potentially disrupting elections or other democratic processes. Detecting and mitigating the spread of such disinformation will require the development of sophisticated AI-powered tools to safeguard digital sovereignty.

Companies must take a proactive stance in defending against AI-driven threats. Framatome’s representative stressed that cybersecurity should be integrated at all levels of an organization. It is crucial to treat cybersecurity with the same importance as quality control in operational processes. AI tools can help identify vulnerabilities, automate system patches, and monitor systems for potential threats. Protecting sensitive information in industries like nuclear energy requires both technical solutions and organizational commitment. AI’s role in monitoring industrial systems and securing operational technology (OT) is particularly critical in this context.