Far from the eyes of Parisian power but close to the heart of networks. “There was a strategic choice to install military transmissions in the West in the 1970s, that is to say far from the East and potential Soviet tanks”, recalls Nicolas Arpagian, expert in cybersecurity and author of Frontières.com, an essay on the “cyber” universe.
The staff opted for Rennes and its region in order to secure vital telecommunications and to innovate in terms of electronic warfare and then cyberdefence.
With its nearby Army Signals School, the prefecture of Ille-et-Vilaine is also the gateway to Brittany where the research centers of France Telecom, Alcatel and the National Center for Telecommunications Studies (Cnet) in Lannion. “This has created a breeding ground with infrastructures already in place and ideal for an ecosystem of digital service companies, customers, and advanced academic training”, underlines Nicolas Arpagian.
The historical weight of armies
“The presence of the Directorate General of Armaments (DGA-Information Control) has also attracted innovative start-ups in cybersecurity”, adds François Deruty, former deputy director of operations of the National Security Agency. information systems (Anssi).
Already a historic bastion of cyber, the Rennes metropolis has recently changed in size. Alternately Minister of Defense and then Foreign Affairs, the Breton Jean-Yves Le Drian has put all his political weight to strengthen this stronghold of the fight against piracy.
Launched by the Ministry of the Armed Forces and the Brittany region in 2014, the Cyber Center of Excellence (PEC) formalized this network associating university research (CNRS, Inria, etc.) with specialized SMEs.
The opening of the high-speed line in 2017 also placed the Rennes metropolitan area 1h35 from Parisian decision-making centres. Enough to attract economic players who are still hesitant. “It was quickly a natural choice to settle in such a complete environment with premises at better prices and a better quality of life for our employees”, highlights François Deruty, director of operations of Sekoia.io, an SME specialist threat detection.
“Then there was a snowball effect for companies that opened offices there. There are now around a hundred of them working on several fronts to protect our IT systems and create heavyweights in the sector. The National Information Systems Security Agency has also decided to open its first offices outside the capital and to assign 200 specialized agents there by 2026.