French Tech Connect #44 – Cybersecurity: New threats and opportunities

On April 23rd, we hosted French Tech Connect #44 at the FKCCI, bringing together cybersecurity practitioners, entrepreneurs, and curious minds for an evening of frank conversation about one of the most pressing challenges facing businesses today.

The verdict? The threat landscape has changed — and the window for complacency has closed.

Last week, we gathered at the FKCCI for French Tech Connect #44, where three frontline cybersecurity experts — Martin Bois (Almond), Fabien Viagas (Thales), and Martin Toteve (Autocrypt) — joined us for an evening of honest, practical conversation about the threats facing businesses today.

Here's what stood out.

AI has changed the attacker's playbook. Threat actors can now automate attacks at scale, generate convincing phishing in seconds, and probe defenses faster than most teams can respond. The pace has fundamentally shifted.

SMEs are no longer below the radar. As large enterprises harden their perimeters, attackers pivot to softer targets in the supply chain. If you serve a larger company, you are the attack surface.

The biggest gap is cultural, not technical. Treating security as someone else's problem or something to figure out after the next funding round remains the most common and costly mistake.

Regulation is becoming a competitive advantage. For French companies selling into European markets, NIS2 and the EU Cyber Resilience Act are increasingly a trust signal, not just a compliance checkbox.

For startups: start earlier than you think. The first priorities are identity and access management, basic endpoint protection, and an incident response plan. None require a large budget, just intentionality.

Thank you to our speakers, to FKCCI for hosting, to our sponsor IT-Concept and to everyone who came. See you at the next one.