While the health crisis is raging, that the economic crisis is significant, everyone is talking about teleworking, distancing. The need for distancing is so strong that everyone rushes to collaborative and videoconferencing tools (essentially Americans) without being careful that another crisis awaits us, without any collective immunity: a cyber crisis.
In this rush on tools, worthy of the great Far-West era, we forget our digital precautionary principles with such imperity that it becomes appalling for those who try to keep a cool head in this complicated time.
Maybe COVID19 has affected our cognitive abilities. The Cloud Act? don't know. The sovereignty of data? "It's not the time sir, the pandemic is global." Privacy? Not so bad after all. Certainly, but finally.
And in health turpitudes, no one is therefore surprised that millions of Zoom users were hacked with data transfers to China and that our conversations on Anglo-Saxon tools could be listened to legally by the agencies American federal. Remember all the same, that these same agencies work 80% for the purpose of economic intelligence, the rest devolved to anti-terrorism and the fight against drugs.
And if some are moved by this lack of realism or precaution, the lapidary answers are of an extreme emptiness, worthy of a "circulation there is nothing to see".
And in this aggiornamento, many actors, in a blindness that borders on derision, therefore use with short arms, -in highly sensitive areas both political and economic - Zoom, Teams, Star Leaf etc.... Despite their flaws, their Inherent defects, known or awkwardly concealed, these same user actors or their cyber managers seem blinded in collective precipitation.
In this context, there is a 100% French solution, which had 10,000 users before the crisis and which continues to rise: this solution is Private Discuss.
A name not very French, of course, it must be admitted but "names across the Atlantic have good press in France, drive-ins of several kilometers of barely reopened fast food cars can attest to this" comments with amusement the communication manager Izabela Ausztol.
Despite this name, the Private Discuss solution is developed in France, hosted in France with data hosting in France. “The principle that governs us is to be a 100% French solution,” says its president, Jean-Pierre Lach.
Private Discuss has also chosen a brand ambassador, who excellently represents this tradition of French know-how in the person of Sebastien Chabal. This one makes it the tireless promoter, as a worthy representative of the only French solution for secure videoconferencing, as he repeats as he wishes.
Sebastien Chabal, who also took part in the capital, affirms it: “Security is an essential concept for us. Do videoconferencing yes, but not just any way, under any conditions. An undisguised nod to the recent setbacks of Zoom and the growing and often anarchic interest of many actors in these teleworking solutions.
Indeed, Private Discuss, unlike many other solutions, performs end-to-end encryption which is automatically active and by default for both direct conversations, multiple channels or videoconferences. Only people who communicate can access the messages intended for them. Data encryption is performed on the user's client device before sending to the server. The “data” is therefore protected from the source transmitter to the recipient. The solution is obviously GDPR compliant, because "data is the property of everyone and as it will constitute the new black gold in the coming years, it is necessary to be vigilant about securing data" insists, Nawfal Sikal, cybersecurity expert who Leads development teams.
And continues “The encryption algorithms used by Private Discuss are Curve25519, AES 256 and HMAC-SHA-256 ensuring total confidentiality and security of exchanges and user data. Devices that do not support this encryption are not compatible with using Private Discuss. Security does not go through universality. »
This is said and clearly lays down the principles that make the strength of Private Discuss.
To those who could scream from the scream thinking that Private Discuss could take advantage of the situation, Jean-Pierre Lach, president, replies that “Private Discuss is offered for 3 months to companies, 6 months to VSEs, and 12 months to Associations. And that for individuals, the use is free for 24 months. You have to go into collective solidarity. »
And the bet is doubly assured. Because Private Discuss, to use current terminology, is no longer confined to 10,000 users but now displays a deconfinement to more than 100,000 active users, with a strong virality, (without any puns), through the word of mouth and networks.
Because beyond companies, communities, associations, individuals, even political parties scalded by recent misadventures and by the growing uncertainty about the other tools on the market, have opted for Private Discuss.
She has everything of a great, insists Sebastien Chabal, not without irony: “Whatever its audience, unlike its competing solutions, Private Discuss was also designed for professional use. Features of workgroups, screen sharing, user administration and platform security policies allow Private Discuss to be a real work tool for businesses. »
“The current crisis has made us evolve to go even further in the vision of the solution”, concludes Didier Dalod, legal and contract director. To then resume “we have added important features that go in the direction of virtualization, digitalization and dematerialization. Indeed, the new version now includes the functionality of implementing webinars up to 5000 people but also the possibility of carrying out general meetings with the associated votes. “The first virtual municipal council was held thanks to Private Discuss in an important town in Drôme in April.
Private Discuss is available on all Android, iOS, Web, Linux, Windows and macOS platforms. Private Discuss allows the user to connect to multiple devices in order to have the best possible user experience.
"The 100% French, the collaborative in a secure and modular cyber environment plans to have at least 1 million users in September 2020", according to Jean-Vianey Dard, associate director in charge of Private Discuss. “The security of our data, of our exchanges is a societal issue” concludes Jean-Vianney. And this former Special Forces officer knows what he's talking about.
In the Rhône-Alpes region, despite the emerging global economic crisis, Private Discuss has launched the recruitment of 30 new engineers in support of the current team.
-- Press Release of May 4, 2020.