11th Annual French-American Cyber Security Conference
December 11, 2024
On Monday, December 9 and Tuesday, December 10, the French-American Foundation held its 11th Annual French-American Cyber Security Conference in Washington, D.C. The conference was generously hosted by the D.C. offices of Greenberg-Traurig, LLP and centered around the theme “Putting Cyber Security into Practice: A Transatlantic Discussion.”
After opening words from Ambassador Laurent Bili, Ambassador of France to the United States, Gen. (ret.) Jean-Paul Paloméros, Vice President of French-American Foundation—France, President of the French-American Cyber Security Conference Steering Committee, and former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Transformation, and Edward C. Wallace, New York Co-Chair of Greenberg-Traurig, LLP and Chairman of French-American Foundation—U.S., the conference began in earnest with its first panel on the topic of hybrid warfare. In a panel moderated by Cara LaPointe (U.S. Young Leader 2016), speakers Marc-Antoine Brillant, Head of Vigilance and Protection Against Foreign Digital Interference at VIGINUM, and Maegen Nix, Director of VT-ARC’s Decision Science Division, discussed the various ways in which new technologies are leveraged in today’s military landscape, including the roles of cyber agencies in determining best courses of action, the propagation of misinformation on the Internet, and the importance of transatlantic cooperation and resilience against autocracies. Next came a panel on the transatlantic partnership and its role in addressing multilateral cyber security challenges. Speakers Dan Haney, [titles], Chris Inglis, former U.S. National Cyber Director, Bulelani Jili, Meta Research PhD Fellow at Harvard University, and Léonard Rolland, Head of International Cyber Policy at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, conversed on the importance of diplomatic tools in dealing with cyber threats and the lessons to be learned from recent cyber attacks in Eastern Europe. The conversation was moderated by veteran journalist Christine Ockrent (French Young Leader 1983), Producer of “Affaires Étrangères” on France Culture.
The first day’s lunch session included breakout discussions on various topics, including cyber in warfare, led by Guillaume Acca, Head of Strategic Forecasting at COMCYBER, and Christine Ockrent; the growth of the cyber security industry, led by Bernard Gavgani, Group Chief Information Officer of BNP Paribas and Member of the bank’s Group Executive Committee, Emilie Cleret, Senior Advisor to the President of the French Defense University and Chief Academic Officer for French Higher Military Education – English Studies, Major Alexandre Coullon of the French Air & Space Force, and Beth Musumeci, Managing Director at AlixPartners; and the intersection of cyber security and sustainability, led by Dr. Newton Campbell (U.S. Young Leader 2016).
The afternoon began with a keynote conversation with Ambassador Nathaniel C. Fick (U.S. Young Leader 2010), U.S. Ambassador at Large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy, and Guillaume Poupard, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Docaposte, moderated by Gen. (ret.) Paloméros. The conversation touched on strengthening digital solidarity between the European Union and the United States, the fine line between over- and under-regulation of new technologies such as AI, and China’s eminence in the world of cyber security. The next panel brought together Wes Gavins, Vice President and Head of Cybersecurity of the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games Organizing Committee – Los Angeles 2028, and Franz Regul, Managing Director Cybersecurity, RSSI and Chief Information Security Officer of the Paris 2024 Organizing Committee (COJOP), to discuss the role of cybersecurity in previous and future Olympic Games. In a discussion moderated by Adam Hodge (U.S. Young Leader 2019), Managing Director of Bully Pulpit International, the panel focused on the cyber security challenges faced by the Paris Olympics and the lessons to be learned for the next Games, which will take place in Los Angeles. The first day concluded with a panel on addressing critical cyber security challenges with Suzanne E. Spaulding, former DHS Undersecretary for Cyber and Infrastructure and Director of the Defending Democratic Institutions Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Philip Stupak, Assistant National Cyber Director, and Kate C. Whitehead, Deputy Associate Director for International Affairs at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), moderated by Hugo Zylberberg, Cybersecurity Advisor, where the four discussed the issues at the forefront of the cybersecurity landscape and the various strategies being used to handle them.
After closing words from Cara LaPointe, attendees headed to the Residence of the French Ambassador for a beautiful cocktail reception to celebrate the conference. Speakers, participants, and staff alike were able to mingle and network over delicious food and drinks and hear inspiring words from Ambassador Laurent Bili, Edward C. Wallace, Gen. (ret.) Paloméros, and French-American Foundation—France Chairman Jacques Aschenbroich.
The second day of the conference kicked off with a case study on PEGASUS and protecting critical information infrastructure. In a fireside chat with Bill Marczak, Research Fello at Citizen Lab, moderator Océane Thieriot, Counselor for Cyber and Emerging Tech at the Embassy of France in Washington, D.C. discussed the PEGASUS hacking case and its implications for spyware across the world, sharing the lessons learned from the situation. Next came a discussion on cyber resilience with Joao Moita, Chief Information Security Officer of Airbus, and moderated by Yosra Jarraya (French Young Leader 2023), Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Astran. The two conversed on dealing with the high-pressure environment of the cyber security field, the importance of product security, and the collaboration required in larger companies. This was followed by a talk on enhancing cyber literacy in the workforce with Camille Stewart Gloster, Esq., former Deputy National Cyber Director, moderated by Béatrice de Clermont Tonnerre (French Young Leader 2010), former General Manager Public Sector at Microsoft and current Investor and Board Member at Kayrros. The discussion touched on educating the larger workforce in the United States on issues of cyber security and digital literacy in order to provide necessary technological skills to a wider number of individuals. The next panel brought together Marc-Antoine Brillant and Valeria Kennedy, Director of Services, America at Chainalysis, Inc. In a conversation moderated by Jean-Louis Gergorin, Strategy Counsel at Ravel Technologies and Co-Founder of the French-American Cyber Security Conference, the three talked about the intersection of cyber security and election disinformation, using the recent Eastern European elections as case studies to discuss the importance of regulating technology and monitoring threat actors.
After lunch, the conference launched into its last two sessions. The first was a panel on the relationship between cyber security and AI, a field which has undergone rapid growth in recent years. The panel featured Bernard Gavgani, Yosra Jarraya, and Michael Siegel, Principal Research Scientist and Director of Cybersecurity at MIT, and was moderated by Marc Sorel (U.S. Young Leader 2016), Partner as McKinsey & Company. The four discussed the ways in which AI could both benefit and harm the world of cyber security. The afternoon’s final conversation was on the topic of cybersecurity and space, and brought together Gen. Philippe Adam, Space Commander for the Air & Space Force, France and Richard Yu, Director of the Digital Superiority Directorate (J6) and Chief Information Officer of the U.S. Space Command. In a conversation moderated by Gen. Paloméros, the issues of international cooperation and the various cyber security threats being faced there were discussed, as was the importance of the French-American alliance in strengthening both our understanding and our defense of outer space. The conference closed with a feedback session led by Cara LaPointe, where attendees were encouraged to share their thoughts and recommendations for next year’s cyber security conference. Participants noted that the sessions this year were thoughtfully put together, and asked for there to be more focus on issues such as quantum crypto, protection of genomic data, and education in future conferences.
Thank you to all of our speakers, moderators, and attendees, and an extra special thank you to the D.C. team at Greenberg-Traurig, LLC and the team at the Residence of the Ambassador of France for their hospitality and hard work. We look forward to seeing you next year for the 12th Annual French-American Cyber Security Conference!