At the heart of cyberspace, telecommunications infrastructure play a central role.
At a time when France and the European Union are strengthening the regulatory framework to protect the critical infrastructures of the State and our companies (Directive NIS 2, Dora regulations, military programming law 2023), the National Agency for Information Systems Systems (ANSSI) acts on the front line to strengthen the digital resilience of the strategic sectors.
At the heart of cyberspace, telecommunications infrastructure play a central role. A real spine of our connected daily life, they are now targets of choice for cyber attacks and sabotage acts. If their strategic importance exposes them to growing threats, certain unknown infrastructures demonstrate remarkable resilience, in particular the air networks linked to very high tension pylons (THT), which offer unique assets in the face of digital and physical threats.
Examples abound to illustrate the fragility of critical infrastructure. In February 2022, the attack on the Ka-Sat satellite network disrupted tens of thousands of connections in Europe, revealing how much sabotage can paralyze whole systems. More recently in November and December, underwater cables were cut in the Baltic Sea by Chinese and Russian ships. These ships are suspected of having voluntarily allowed their anchor to drag on hundreds of kilometers with the consequence of disturbances on European telecommunications and impacts on electricity supply between Finland and Estonia.
In addition to cyber attacks and sabotage, natural events such as the Alex storm in 2020, which caused more than a billion euros in damage and caused telecommunications service cuts that can last up to two weeks, also highlight the vulnerability of land infrastructure and the secondary network (telecom and low tension post).
In this context of increased risks, certain telecom infrastructure is distinguished by their robustness. The networks carried by very high voltage pylons (THT) of RTE, are a perfect example. France has one of the most efficient transport electrical network in the world. The physical infrastructure used is of the most robust design, the network is substantial, and the management of the fiber electrical network of the most efficient. By nature, these arteries in our national electrical network are more resilient bastions in the face of aggressions, whether natural or intentional. Telecom infrastructure thus using them are structurally dependent on centralized interconnection points.
However, resilience is also based on concrete and coordinated actions between public and private actors. These efforts must be accompanied by initiatives such as simulations of attacks in real situations, and investments in technological innovation to anticipate threats and improve the robustness of critical infrastructure.
The state must play a proactive leader’s role, by accelerating initiatives like France 2030 and Cyber.gouv.fr. But he must also push operators and companies to adopt a culture of resilience, as much physical as Cyber, because one without the other, it does not work. It is only through a close collaboration between the public and the private sector that France will be able to guarantee its digital sovereignty and the security of its critical infrastructure.
Although telecom infrastructure is exposed to growing threats, solutions exist the diversity offered by the assets of the THT network is a perfect illustration. With strategic investments and collective mobilization, our digital company will be able to transform its vulnerabilities into sustainable forces.
