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- 🌍 Sekoia vs. PlugX: A French Victory + Cyber Strategy Insights for 2025
🌍 Sekoia vs. PlugX: A French Victory + Cyber Strategy Insights for 2025
In this week's Cyber StratOps Digest: Discover how French cybersecurity powerhouse Sekoia dismantled the infamous PlugX malware, earning global recognition. Plus, dive into essential strategies, frameworks like NIST 2.0, and insights from the WEF’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook to prepare for 2025’s evolving threats. From January 13rd to 19th, 2025.
Sylvan Ravinet
January 20, 2025
Hello ,
✍️ in this week's newsletter:
🇫🇷 Sekoia: The Frenchies behind the fall of PlugX.
🎙 Interview: Sekoia: A cyber startup facing cyber threats.
❌ Misconception: “By hacking, you learn how to defend”.
🏹 NIST2.0: The one document every cybersecurity leader should have in their arsenal.
💡 What the WEF's Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2025 report teaches us.
⏳️ Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
🇫🇷 Sekoia: The Frenchies behind the fall of PlugX
It is rare for a French company to lead a major international cybersecurity operation. Yet, that is exactly what Sekoia accomplished. This French firm, at the heart of dismantling PlugX, a formidable malware used by China-backed hackers, earned official recognition from the FBI and U.S. authorities.
Yes. This is not just a victory for cybersecurity, it is a true moment of national pride. Thanks to Sekoia's innovative expertise, thousands of infected systems in the United States were neutralized without any collateral damage, showcasing French talent on the global stage. When the FBI highlights a French company for its decisive role, it serves as a powerful reminder: France is a force to be reckoned with in the cyber world.
But if this large-scale “cleaning” operation is a success - and a really outstanding one - it brings two difficult points:
Why did the DOJ publicly acknowledge the PlugX operation dates from 2014, when researchers in the private sector - such as TrendMicro - have documented its existence as far back as 2008?
What are current adverse operations from other China state-sponsored actors? If the western world needs 10 to 16 years to “terminate” an adverse cyberspying operation…
We wouldn’t want this beautiful tree to hide the forest.
As we celebrate this triumph, we must ensure that this success does not obscure the bigger picture: APT are here to stay, and in 2025 and beyond, every organization is a potential target.
🎙 Sekoia: a startup fighting cyber threats
I had the privilege of interviewing François Deruty. He leads Sekoia’s Threat Detection and Response (TDR). In 2024, during the InCyber Forum, he shared invaluable insights into the company’s approach to tackling cyber threats. His vision and Sekoia’s commitment to innovation clearly foreshadowed their role in such groundbreaking operations.