Laboratory visits are carefully organized

Since a few months, stories feed mois, anecdotes anecdotes les conversations de le petit monde de l' intelligence économique conversations of the small world of economic intelligence. Here a laptop theft. Of laboratories to a singular profile visitors. Elsewhere, an intrusion into a computer system. In short, since the inception of the poles of competitiveness, would multiply the more or less malicious actions. "It's the classic range of penetration of an economic system," says Gerard Pardini, head of the intelligence Department and crisis management at the national Institute of advanced studies of security, which drives the nail: "By definition, the poles of competitiveness must be open, but not available."

Yet, once more, the France appeared surprised by the phenomenon, while the theme was the fashion in early 2004, the appointment of Alain July for the post of high official in charge of economic intelligence. Inconstancy, myopia, incompetence or clumsiness A device, with a budget of 2 million francs, had well expected to help the poles of competitiveness in economic security. It is apparently fallen in oblivion. Always very inclined to give advice, the State itself caught feet in the safety mat. Pole selection process revealed a veritable sieve for example, the movement of the technical records poorly controlled, with several examples of leaks.

So early in the year, Rémi Pautrat, former Director of the DST and former prefect, sued his relay to the Ministry of the Interior. Result, an experimental program of economic security (Seco) has been imagined hastily to raise awareness of the poles. The responsibility of the operation was entrusted to a structure created for the occasion, France Intelligence Innovation, a subsidiary of the Agency for the dissemination of technological information (Adit) and the European strategic intelligence company (CEIS). Four poles were selected: Elopsys, Biotherapy, chemistry-environment, Valorial (food of the future). The region d'Azur, under the aegis of the prefect working in the sharing of information between the State and enterprises, has been associated with the project.

Simple measures

In each pole, a study was first highlighted the risks and threats. The Poles will then receive training. Then information sharing secure computer tools will be installed: forum, file servers, email tools. Finally, good practices should be identified to build a methodology that can be extended to other poles. Before, perhaps, to establish a base to start cooperation with other countries, including the Germany.

There seems to work, insists Rémi Pautrat: "between a large enterprise, SME and a laboratory, the logics are different, and if the trust does not exist, there is no sharing of information." In summary, the pattern of SMEs is concerned to plunder by large companies. As researchers, always suspected of wanting to publish at will. Therefore, whether to prioritize the information that the participants will exchange: critical, sensitive, restricted, open dissemination. "Thus, on a project implementing a critical technology, all partners may have no need to know everything." "A business partner today can be competing tomorrow," notes Philippe Angot, corresponding economic security of the biotherapy pole in the Pays de la Loire.

It should be noted the apparently simple and yet regularly forgotten measures: do not go on a show keeping the entirety of a project on a laptop computer, use the USB key with parsimony, beware of telephone conversations, especially in public places. Yet, many Poles are not discovering these measures. "We have not waited this program", insists Philippe Chican, Director of research of the pole car of the future. Very media, the pole has carefully defined what could be released and which was kept secret. Laboratory visits, are carefully organized.

Other experts are skeptical before action at defensive reeks. "Today, economic intelligence, it is firstly a war of movement, while is always the reflex of the Maginot line, regrets Nicolas Moinet, lecturer at the Institute of communication and new technologies of the University of Poitiers.". We take things by the small end of the telescope. Is not the security that will make the economic intelligence. It is the opposite. It passes through a mesh of the actors, by networking. Economic security will result in.