Cisco [CSCO] and Thales signed a strategic collaboration in cybersecurity that will result in IT security solutions for French critical infrastructure providers, Thales said Wednesday.

The companies plan to co-develop “an innovative cybersecurity solution” to better detect and counter-attack cyber threats in real time. The solution will be based on complementing the technology and know-how of both companies, Thales said.

Officials from Thales and Cisco sign an agreement to collaborate on cybersecurity solutions for French critical infrastructure providers. Photo: Thales.
Officials from Thales and Cisco sign an agreement to collaborate on cybersecurity solutions for French critical infrastructure providers. Photo: Thales.

Thales highlighted the new joint and integrated solution is set to incorporate all the relevant information on IT threats ranging from networks to desktops. It will provide clients with an overall visibility and optimal control over their IT security, ranging from prevention to neutralizing cyber attacks.

The co-development project will be set up in France and is intended mainly for French critical infrastructure providers. The project will operate on an open-innovation approach by bringing start-ups onboard, the companies said. Although focused on French clients, the project is intended to have a worldwide deployment, the companies said.

“Confidence in digital technology is a crucial factor for France’s digital transformation, which is why cybersecurity lies at the very heart of Cisco’s development strategy,” Robert Vassoyan, president of Cisco France, said in a statement.

“Our collaboration with Thales thus marks a new milestone where our technological expertise goes hand in hand with Thales’s global industrial excellence,” he added.

Citing an exponential growth in the number and variety of cyber attacks, a Thales official noted defenders are challenged to better know the threat while also anticipating attacks and detecting them in real-time to mitigate their effects.

“In the coming months, this cooperation between Thales and Cisco will offer a new global solution able to meet this challenge. Thanks to the complementary nature of our respective fields of expertise, our clients will be able to benefit from the alliance of the most effective technologies in this domain,” Jean-Michel Lagarde, deputy general manager for secure communications and information systems at Thales, said in a statement.