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Ercom is a French company founded in 1986, specialising in digital security. The company is headquartered in Vélizy-Villacoublay in the Yvelines département. It will be acquired by Thales in early 2019.[1]

History

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Cyril Autant is the CEO of Ercom[2],[3].

Initially based in Meudon-la-Forêt, the company moved its head office to Vélizy-Villacoublay.[4] The company employed 25 people in 2005, 120 in 2013, 160 in 2015 and 200 in 2018,[5] including 190 in France, and generated sales of €45 million in 2016.[6] Ercom has offices in France (2009) in Marseille, Lyon and Paris[7] and in Chicago (2012)[5] as well as a presence in China (since 2011).[5]

The company experienced major difficulties in 2015 following the buyout of Alcatel. It was saved from bankruptcy by a number of shareholders, including BPI France and Engie Ineo, and Tempocap, a family asset manager.[8] Suneris Solution, an Ercom subsidiary founded in April 2015,[9] specialises in surveillance technologies.[2],[10],[11] The company has provided Egypt, in particular, with tools for intercepting telephone calls and SMS and monitoring internet traffic, within a legal and regulated framework.[2]

With the Cryptopass system, the company extended its services to the Ministry of Defence's Joint Directorate of Infrastructure Networks and Information Systems in 2016, following its previous collaborations with the Élysée Palace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.[12] In partnership with Samsung, the company is offering Cryptosmart,[13] an ANSSI-approved[14] solution for securing mobile terminals. The IN Group implements the Cryptobox collaborative working solution.[15]

Services

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Data interception and surveillance

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Ercom develops data interception and surveillance softwares, including a wifi interceptor[16] and a Trojan horse.[17]

Data protection

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Ercom sells its services by simulating and measuring the performance of telecoms networks, particularly end-to-end encryption.

The company sells products - Cryptosmart, Citadel Team and Cryptobox[19],[20] to clients like the Élysée Palace,[18] the Ministry of Armed Forces [19] and CAC 40 companies, safeguarding their communications, data and terminals.

Oversights

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Surveillance equipment sold to authoritarian regimes

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Ercom and Suneris supplied surveillance equipment to Egypt's authoritarian regime in 2015.[20],[21],[22] According to Télérama, the Suneris subsidiary was set up to "clear Ercom's name from the most inflammatory markets" and is working "on mass surveillance systems sold abroad: in Côte d'Ivoire, Mali, Gabon, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia".[2]

Spyware in France

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According to L'Express, the French government acquired spyware with the help of Ercom, a company backed by the Public Investment Bank in 2013 and which raised €18 million in 2011.[17],[23]

Close ties with the DGSE

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Ercom and Suneris have enjoyed a privileged relationship with the Directorate-General for External Security,[24] a relationship that however led them to a management crisis in 2018.[25]

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References

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  1. ^ Anne Poiret (mai 2019). Mon pays vend des armes (in French). Paris: Les Arènes. p. 206. ISBN 978-2-7112-0106-8. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help)
  2. ^ a b c d OlivierTesquet (26 mars 2018). "On a encore trouvé une société française qui vend du matériel de surveillance électronique à l'Égypte". Télérama.fr. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  3. ^ "ENGINEERING RESEAUX COMMUNICATIONS (VELIZY-VILLACOUBLAY) Chiffre d'affaires, résultat, bilans sur SOCIETE.COM - 339719775". www.societe.com. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  4. ^ "ERCOM". www.infogreffe.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  5. ^ a b c "à propos de nous". ercom.fr (in French). Retrieved 26/03/2018. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  6. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (2018-01-09). "Ercom, une PME française de la sécurité à l'assaut de l'export en s'appuyant sur le cloud - PME-ETI". usinenouvelle.com/ (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  7. ^ "Les établissements de la société ERCOM". www.infogreffe.fr (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  8. ^ Nouvelle, L'Usine (2018-10-12). "Qui est Ercom, cette PME française qui va sécuriser les téléphones Samsung? - cybersécurité". usinenouvelle.com/ (in French). Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  9. ^ "SUNERIS SOLUTION (VELIZY-VILLACOUBLAY) Chiffre d'affaires, résultat, bilans sur SOCIETE.COM - 811818848". www.societe.com. Retrieved 2022-06-13.
  10. ^ Amaelle Guiton (26 mars 2018). "L'Égypte, friande de surveillance à la française". Libération.fr. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  11. ^ Ridha Loukil (9 janvier 2018). "Ercom, une PME française de la sécurité à l'assaut de l'export en s'appuyant sur le cloud". Usine nouvelle.com. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  12. ^ "Ercom assurera la cybersécurité du ministère de la Défense". challenges.fr (in French). 28.01.2016. Retrieved 27/03/2018. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= and |date= (help)
  13. ^ "OT et ERCOM lancent Cryptosmart SIM-powered, une solution unique de chiffrement des communications mobiles disponible sur les appareils grand public Samsung". Oberthur (in French). 2017-02-20. Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  14. ^ "Gamme Cryptosmart pour la securisation des smartphones et des tablettes". ssi.gouv.fr (in French). Retrieved 26/03/2018. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |access-date= (help)
  15. ^ "Ercom et sa solution Cryptobox retenus par le Groupe Imprimerie Nationale". Global Security Mag Online (in French). Retrieved 2018-03-27.
  16. ^ "FRANCE : Avec Wifileaks, Ercom accélère dans l'interception". Intelligence Online (in French). 2016-12-21. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  17. ^ a b Emmanuel Paquette (2014-11-22). "Les mercenaires de la cyberguerre". LExpansion.com. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  18. ^ "À quoi ressemble le smartphone crypté d'Emmanuel Macron ?". BFM Business.com. 8 novembre 2017. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  19. ^ "Ercom assurera la cybersécurité du ministère de la Défense". Challenges.fr. 26 janvier 2016. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help).
  20. ^ Durand, Corentin (2018-03-26). "Avec Suneris, le Français Ercom vend des logiciels de surveillance à l'Égypte - Politique". Numerama (in French). Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  21. ^ "L'Egypte, friande de surveillance à la française". Libération.fr (in French). 2018-03-26. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  22. ^ "Surveillance made in France - Les mémos de la terreur". Disclose.ngo (in French). 2021-11-21. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  23. ^ Emmanuel Paquette (2013-07-17). "Surveillance d'Internet: les mouchards de la France". LExpansion.com (in French). Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  24. ^ "FRANCE : Comment la DGSE veut rattraper son retard en matière d'interception tactique". Intelligence Online (in French). 2017-07-19. Retrieved 2018-12-21.
  25. ^ "FRANCE : Crise à la tête de Suneris, le chouchou de la DGSE". Intelligence Online (in French). 2018-08-29. Retrieved 2018-12-21.