The 2024 edition of Les Assises de la Cybersécurité, held in mid-October in Monaco, once again brought together professionals from the sector to discuss the challenges posed by cyber threats. This year, more than ever, securing the mobile environment became a central topic in discussions and workshops.
A genuine awareness is emerging: threats targeting mobile devices are multiplying and becoming increasingly sophisticated and visible. With the proliferation of malware, phishing, and even malicious cell towers, mobile users find themselves on the front line, facing heightened risks. These threats are gaining momentum, leading to critical data theft, financial fraud, identity compromises, and directly impacting business processes. In light of this reality, companies of all sizes and industries now recognize the crucial importance of securing their fleets of mobile devices.
During a workshop led by Lionel Ferrafiat, Security and Mobility Expert at EDF, and Renaud Gruchet, Chief Business Innovation Officer at Pradeo, we delved into the collaboration between these two companies, which work together to protect EDF's 55,000 employee smartphones from cyber threats.
Since 2017, EDF has relied on Pradeo’s mobile security solution, integrated with the Workspace ONE MDM solution used for mobile device management. This combination allows the company to fully manage its fleet while ensuring proactive protection against threats.
The two experts highlighted several key findings during their presentation. First, mobile usage today is a blend of professional and personal activities, which increases the exposure of corporate data. Users, often unaware of the dangers, exhibit less secure behaviors on their phones compared to their desktops. This context reinforces the need for an autonomous mobile protection solution capable of identifying and blocking threats in real time.
Some statistics were shared to illustrate the activity of Pradeo Security across EDF's fleet. Each month, the solution analyzes 2 million security events (such as app installations and updates, network connections, risky system configurations, etc.) and scans around 6,000 apps. Among the events analyzed, the solution detects between 2,000 and 3,000 non-compliant behaviors, some of which are more critical, to which it responds automatically and in real time on the affected devices. In parallel, the EDF team analyzes the indicators reported by Pradeo and the EMM to ensure monitoring and remediation of these alerts.
The added value of Pradeo's solution, complementing the MDM, was highlighted in several ways. First, it provides precise and detailed monitoring of mobile security. Second, it offers effective protection against espionage attempts, which are more frequent than one might imagine. Finally, thanks to Pradeo, EDF has been able to strengthen the security of its devices while maintaining a high level of user confidentiality.
In conclusion, the two speakers shared that it is crucial to tackle several challenges to stay ahead of mobile-specific cyber threats. Among these priorities: offering granular protection for iOS devices as well as Android, continuously adapting to ever-changing mobile configurations, securing devices while respecting end-user privacy, and anticipating new threats through continuous innovation. Pradeo, already well advanced in these areas, continues to refine its solutions to meet the future needs of its clients.
The three enterprise mobility specialists—Thales, ITS Ibelem, and Pradeo—presented a combination of solutions aimed at strengthening the security of professional mobile devices against cyber threats.
The workshop highlighted three complementary approaches:
This joint offering primarily targets French companies and administrations, particularly those operating in sensitive sectors such as government organizations and Operators of Vital Importance (OIV), which have specific security and digital sovereignty needs. Thanks to this ecosystem, they can protect their mobile fleets against modern threats such as ransomware and espionage, while meeting high security requirements.