Monaco has become the focal point of the French-speaking cybersecurity world this week, with around 3,500 people expected at the Grimaldi Forum for the 26th edition of Les Assises de la Cybersécurité.

The Minister of State, Christophe Mirmand, visited the venue on Wednesday morning to open the event, which runs from October 7 to 10. Its theme this year is “Osons !”, which means “Let’s dare!”.

The Assises brings together the people responsible for cybersecurity in large organisations and the partner companies that help guide their decisions. Organisers say the programme covers conferences, keynotes, round tables, meet-ups and expert workshops. The event is by invitation, with pre-arranged one-to-one meetings between decision-makers and suppliers.

According to IT Social, the organisers expect 1,515 senior decision-makers among the attendees. The Blog du Modérateur counts 145 conferences, workshops, round tables and meet-ups, with sessions on artificial intelligence, digital sovereignty, resilience, cloud and compliance.

The opening conference brought together Maria Iacono, director of the Assises, and Mirmand, with Glen Prichard, who heads cybercrime work at the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, and Vincent Strubel, director general of France’s national cybersecurity agency ANSSI. Other speakers billed by the Journal du Net include Michael Sentonas, chief executive of CrowdStrike, and Yinon Costica, co-founder of Wiz.

This year’s theme comes with three priorities: putting people and skills at the centre, strengthening cooperation between European security chiefs, and treating AI and quantum computing as levers for change rather than threats. Fabrice Bru is honorary president.

The edition also comes as new European rules take effect. Since September 11, manufacturers of products with digital elements must report actively exploited vulnerabilities, under the EU Cyber Resilience Act, IT Social reports.

The 25th edition last year drew 3,349 participants and 180 partners to the Grimaldi Forum, according to Agoris.

Image courtesy of Direction de la Communication – Stéphane Danna