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Interview with Major General Marc BOGET
Could you tell us about your roles and missions within the French National Gendarmerie?
I'm the Director of Digital and Technological Strategy for the Gendarmerie Nationale, reporting directly to its Director General, General Hubert Bonneau. Today, the Gendarmerie's digital equipment includes some 300 central information systems, 4,000 servers, 80,000 computers and 100,000 cell phones.
What are the challenges facing the Gendarmerie Nationale?
There are four main ones: security, interoperability, modularity and resilience. The digital tools we use must therefore fulfill several roles. The first, from an internal perspective, is to help the gendarmerie in its day-to-day missions, to be more efficient, faster, or by offering capabilities that exceed those of the human being. The second role is to better welcome and protect our fellow citizens. This involves tools for welcoming and informing the public in the broadest sense, as well as tools for prevention, particularly in the cyber domain. Our entire digital approach must serve our lines of operation, with well-commanded and well-trained gendarmes, more effective action, and gendarmes who have the right means to work, and who are proud of their living and working conditions. Digital technology is the key to these 4 dynamics.
Credits: Brice LAPOINTE
Credits: Kirill KUDRYAVTSEV / AFP
How does the NEO program, for which Crosscall won the second tender in 2021 with the supply of CORE-X4 NEO smartphones and CORE-T4 NEO tablets, meet these requirements?
The NEO terminal holds a strategic place in our information system. We believe that, tomorrow, it should also become our desktop computer. It is therefore a cornerstone of our strategy. You'll understand that the right to make mistakes is not an option, with the essential question of the failure rate. Our equipment has to be available at all times and in all places, and of course it has to be hard-wearing. With several years' experience and the feedback of tens of thousands of units in service, Crosscall meets these requirements perfectly. This guaranteed availability in sometimes extreme conditions of use is the DNA of the French brand. I don't hear any talk of Crosscall products from the teams, which is an excellent sign!
"The NEO terminal holds a strategic place within our information ecosystem. Our equipment has to be available at all times, in all places, and of course resistant!"
This availability issue was particularly crucial during the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Can you describe the human resources deployed?
They were commensurate with the scale of this global event, with between 15,000 and 35,000 gendarmes mobilized every day for the duration of the two Olympiads. We were able to count on the support of foreign forces who patrolled with our teams on the ground.
What is your analysis of the evolution of threats linked to this type of major event, and how can strategic communications be better managed in this context?
Current events underline this more and more every day. More than ever, the ability to communicate information quickly and securely is crucial. At present, almost 40,000 gendarmes and 60,000 police officers use the new STORM information system. We are currently rolling out a new system, the Réseau Radio du Futur (RRF). With STORM, the telephone is used as a radio, relying on the network of the operator, Orange. The system's strength lies in what we call "priority pre-emption". In other words, law enforcement data takes priority over other data on a digital network, with the ability to also take priority over an overloaded relay, on December 31st for example. In the event of an exceptional situation, the system will automatically give priority to strategic communications, to enable communications serving the defense of the population and the territory. Tomorrow, i.e. from 2025, RRF will go even further, relying on two operators, Orange and Bouygues. Final adjustments are underway to ensure that there are no functional losses and that the system is perfectly resilient.
Do the special relationships between Orange, Bouygues and Crosscall represent an asset for the deployment of STORM and RRF?
STORM succeeded admirably in its baptism of fire during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. But we all know that the subject is complex and we'll have to meet new challenges. So the fact that all the players are as closely linked as possible is a guarantee of success and easier deployment. The Gendarmerie Nationale is very attentive to the operational commitment of its partners and their collective mobilization to ensure that projects move forward. It's very important for us to know that, faced with a problem, we'll all roll up our sleeves and find solutions together.
Credits: Alex PANTLING / Getty Images via AFP
What is the relationship between the Gendarmerie Nationale and Crosscall teams?
They are very good, particularly with the teams at the Agence du Numérique des Forces de Sécurité Intérieure (ANFSI). Exchanges are regular and fruitful. This is not surprising, since, as I explained, the NEO tool is an essential part of mobility. So we have to work hand in hand with the supplier of the brick used in mobility. This has been the case since 2021, with a good quality of relationship and responsiveness from our teams. I hope it will continue like this, and I'm sure it will!
"Crosscall is a French brand, offering products that meet our demanding specifications, with a high-performance TCO. So a lot of boxes are ticked."
What do you think of Crosscall?
As you can well understand, we are strictly bound by the French Public Procurement Code. The sovereignty angle, on such a strategic piece of mobile equipment, is undeniably an important criterion. Crosscall is a French brand, and was able to offer products that met our specifications, with a high-performance TCO. That's what won us the contract!
Crosscall recently launched the STELLAR-M6, which incorporates a security feature against cyberthreats. What is your analysis of the evolution of cyberthreats?
We are seeing a sharp rise in cybercrime. Every year, a record number of vulnerabilities are discovered in information systems. The cost to society is major. Worldwide, it will exceed $10,000 billion by 2024, with revenues ranging from $1,500 to $2,000 billion for cybercriminals. The Gendarmerie Nationale is one of these criminals' prime targets. That's why the security of our information systems is so strategic. It's one of the reasons why we develop our own operating systems for our phones.
Crosscall's offer is based on the aggregation of uses, with a phone that can replace up to 5 pieces of equipment. Do you think this is the way things are going?
I'm convinced of it. Today, the CORE-X4 NEO smartphones used by our gendarmes are already replacing the old radio terminals as part of the STORM deployment with the X-COMM module from Crosscall. Tomorrow, as I told you, I'm convinced that they will replace all our computers, for enhanced operability and reduced cost of ownership. These two performance levers are perfectly complementary.
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Interview by Andy DEVRIENDT