https://www.lemonde.fr/en/politics/article/2022/11/24/the-french-government-is-developing-a-new-ultra-secure-phone-for-emmanuel-macron_6005486_5.html Friday, November 25, 2022 00 : 02 Paris time Navigation Go Back to the HomePage Sign in Sign in Subscribe * * Home nav_back_to_home * News News + International + France + Les Decodeurs + Sports + Science + Campus + Africa + Pixels + Health + Obituaries + About Us + Culture + Magazine * International + International + United States + United Kingdom + Europe + Africa Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban attending the fall session of Parliament in Budapest, Hungary, on September 26, 2022. International Subscribers only Rule of law: A financial noose is tightening around Hungary's neck Young Indonesians parade during the International Subscribers only In Jakarta, young people from poor suburbs create symbolic 'fashion week' A Swedish migration agency detention center in Marsta, Sweden, June 2017. 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Culture Subscribers only Paris exhibition showcases archaeological treasures of Afghanistan [900ce13_1667402459841-1] Culture Subscribers only New exhibit highlights how post-war Paris was a haven for foreign artists * French Politics * Pixels The French government is working on a new ultra-secure phone for Emmanuel Macron French authorities are looking to modernize their current encrypted telecommunication tools, which are secure but slower and more rigid than those of the GAFAM. By Ivanne Trippenbach Published on November 24, 2022 at 16h00, updated at 20h07 on November 24, 2022 Time to 4 min. Lire en francais * Share * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled * Sharing disabled Send by email * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled Emmanuel Macron consults his phones, during the G7 summit in Elmau, southern Germany, on June 26, 2022. Emmanuel Macron consults his phones, during the G7 summit in Elmau, southern Germany, on June 26, 2022. Emmanuel Macron consults his phones, during the G7 summit in Elmau, southern Germany, on June 26, 2022. SUSAN WALSH / AFP A significant amount of politics for the Macron government plays out on WhatsApp or Telegram, the messaging application created by the Russian brothers Dourov, opponents of Vladimir Putin. The president and his prime minister Elisabeth Borne message each other constantly. One notification and the troops are set in motion. After the racist comment by far-right Rassemblement National MP Gregoire de Fournas, Mr. Macron wrote to a key figure in his entourage: "We must push [Marine Le Pen] to sanction her guy." No sooner said than done, the Macronist group targeted the RN with a video montage on Twitter to the theme of the French cult film Gramps Is in the Resistance. Until recently, the confidentiality of these sometimes titillating exchanges was not a priority for the state services responsible for protecting classified conversations. The "Pegasus" scandal, named after the Israeli spyware used by the Kingdom of Morocco to penetrate the phones of targeted personalities, has changed the game. This complex affair, revealed in July 2021 by Le Monde and a consortium of international media, highlighted the vulnerability of the communications of the French president and government. Since then, the protection of their correspondence - even if it does not contain top secret or defense information - has been a major concern for the Secretariat-General for National Defense and Security (SGDSN). The Elysee Palace did not wish to comment on the subject. Read more Subscribers only Pegasus Project: One year later, the twilight of NSO Group According to Le Monde's information, after "Pegasus," new secure smartphones, with a limited number of contacts were discreetly made available to about 20 government officials. "You don't hack numbers that no one knows," a source familiar with this secret network said. Except that those who have been given these devices do not use them much. "All that is said on Telegram is potentially listened to by the Russians and the Americans," said Thomas Gassilloud, the Renaissance MP and chairman of the National Defense and Armed Forces Commission at the Assemblee Nationale. The parliamentarian has pleaded for the development of a sovereign "French WhatsApp" in an information report. Other software made in France Officially top secret exchanges are a different story. For conversations related to national security, Mr. Macron uses the Osiris phone, a large fixed device connected to an encryptor, which can be seen on his desk when he speaks with Vladimir Putin in the documentary Un President, l'Europe et la Guerre (A President, Europe, and War). The brass buttons of yesteryear have disappeared. Since 2017, a name must be selected (or a function when the identity remains secret) to reach one of the two thousand contacts with special phones. Read more Subscribers only Pegasus: European Parliament committee seeks to prevent any new spyware abuses SGDSN operators use the phrase "We're connecting the president" when they manage calls with foreign heads of state from their Faraday shield bunker in the basement of the Invalides, in Paris. When the president and the prime minister travel abroad or overseas, a classified interministerial information systems team arrives before them to connect an antenna on the roof of their hotel, lower cables through the floors and equip the room next door. Two years ago, the A330 presidential plane was fitted with the high-security system that allowed the president to chair a council of ministers meeting during his return flight from French Polynesia in July 2021. The government possesses other French software, with names inspired by the mythology of ancient Egypt. Horus, a sort of encrypted Skype reserved for the government, is used for video conferencing. ISIS, or Interdepartmental Secure Intranet for Government Synergy, allows emails and attachments to be tagged "defense confidential," allowing participants to prepare the meetings of the defense council, the restricted body that Mr. Macron is so fond of. Approximately two thousand ISIS stations, accessible with a smart card, are distributed in 700 locations around the country. They connect the private staff of the presidency, the military cabinet at the prime minister's residency at Matignon, the chief of staff of the prime minister and the secretary general of the Elysee Palace, the regal ministries, the General Directorate for Internal Security (DGSI) and the General Directorate for External Security, the prefects nationwide, air bases and operators of vital importance. If the telecommunication networks fail, ISIS will continue to operate through an infrastructure of the state's own cables. The Teorem fiasco In practice, however, these tools are so secure that they are slower and more rigid than those of GAFAM (Google, Apple, Meta [Facebook], Amazon and Microsoft). The French National Agency for Information Systems Security is currently working to modernize ISIS. At the same time, the Directorate General of the Armed Forces is developing a project for a telephone that encrypts conversations without any delay, to replace the historic Teorem semi-mobile telephone. Deployed 10 years ago, this clamshell device designed by French electronic company Thales was supposed to serve some 14,000 civilian and military dignitaries. But the non-touch terminal was a fiasco because it was expensive (about EUR4,000), had no contacts book or applications, and required an encryption code and regular resets with a long security key. "It was the phone that drove Sarkozy crazy," someone familiar with the device said. Successive presidents have always preferred their Blackberry or iPhone. In 2018, the former security adviser Alexandre Benalla kept his Teorem as a relic of his time at the Elysee Palace. We are interested in your experience using the site. Send feedback Since the beginning of the war led by Russia, the SGDSN has been especially vigilant with respect to espionage risks, of which Mr. Macron is said to be aware. Even before his inauguration in May 2017, the secretary-general at the Elysee, Alexis Kohler, questioned the services on how to guarantee the secrecy of his exchanges with the president. Meanwhile, DGSI agents insistently instruct ministers and state officials to keep a close watch on their phones, print out strategic documents and give preference to face-to-face encounters. Read more Subscribers only French government warns of increased risk of Russian espionage Ivanne Trippenbach Translation of an original article published in French on lemonde.fr; the publisher may only be liable for the French version. * Share * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled * Sharing disabled Send by email * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled * Sharing disabled Sharing disabled In the same section Le Monde is currently being read on another device. You may read Le Monde on one device at a time Keep reading here This message will be displayed on the other device. Learn about our multi-account offers Why are you seeing this message? * Because someone else (or you) is reading Le Monde with this account on another device. You may only read Le Monde on one device at a time (computer, phone or tablet). * How can I stop seeing this message? 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