Cybersecurity: prevention is better than cure

In business, information security must be considered within a management system, based on the principle of continuous improvement, as with QSE issues. An incident may occur, but you will be equipped to manage it, limit the damage, and learn from it. We explain how to do this.

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Virginie Desbordes
Virginie DesbordesDigital Trust ExpertSee his Linkedin profile

The benefits of a cybersecurity approach

Are you a business, public body, IT services company, or cloud provider? In the face of cyber threats, demonstrate that you are taking all necessary steps to identify and prevent risks, and that you are capable of protecting the information under your responsibility. Otherwise, you will not be chosen. Don't take cyber risk lightly! Source

of figures: national cyber barometer for small and medium-sized businesses, Cybermalveillance.gouv, 2025

16 %of small and medium-sized enterprises that have been victims of one or more cyberattacks over a twelve-month period

80 %Small and medium-sized enterprises say they are unprepared or do not know if they are prepared.

18 %of SMEs attacked are targeted due to security flaws, 43% as a result of phishing

11 %Small and medium-sized enterprises report financial losses following cyberattacks

Implementing a cybersecurity approach in four steps

  • Attacks on information systems have increased exponentially: malware, ransomware, phishing... Hackers are becoming increasingly imaginative in their efforts to intensify their actions. One flaw, and your IT system collapses, sometimes resulting in significant financial losses.

    Whether your company is large or small, you must remain vigilant and constantly improve your security level. To organize this vigilance and ensure continuous improvement, there is a guide: the ISO/IEC 27001 standard.

  • Digital transformation has made the management of personal and health data a major challenge for organizations, with data protection officers at the forefront. Data is now at the heart of quality systems. European regulations have put safeguards in place, particularly the GDPR in 2018.

    Voluntary initiatives complement this approach, with several recognition marks available to demonstrate your rigor, such as the SecNumCloud label, ISO 27701, or HDS certification.
     

  • Necessitated by requirements for space savings, traceability, and sometimes legal evidence, electronic archiving and faithful digitization are processes governed by voluntary standards that specify how to proceed and what terminology to use. Are you an archiving service provider? Promote the quality and performance of your services with NF Service certification for "Archiving and outsourced management of physical documents." This

    certification guarantees comprehensive management of the physical document lifecycle: handling of documents as archives, referencing, storage, and disposal in accordance with best practices.
     

  • Finance, luxury goods, logistics... Blockchain technology is spreading rapidly throughout the economic fabric, with multiple applications. This technology aims to completely secure online transactions and record them. However, disruptive technology is not viable if it does not inspire confidence and if it is not interoperable. This is where voluntary standards come

    in. AFAQ Blockchain Trust certification, based on these standards, provides proof that you have an organization and tools in place to guarantee the quality, robustness, and security of a software solution using blockchain technology, in a spirit of continuous improvement.

Solutions tailored
to each sector

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Agencies and public institutions: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary cybersecurity standards for public administrations and

  • institutions. Our training
  • courses DPO
  • certification SecNumCloud qualification
  • NF Z42-013 standard
     
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Aeronautics: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary cybersecurity standards for aerospace professionals.

  • ISO/IEC 27001 certification
  • Our training courses
  • Interactive course
  • Writing cybersecurity standards
     

Automotive: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary cybersecurity standards for automotive professionals.

  • TISAX assessment Our
  • training courses Interactive
  • course ISO
  • 21434 standard
     
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Medical devices: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary cybersecurity standards for medical device professionals.

  • CE marking
  • ISO 13485 certification
  • Personnel certification Writing
  • cybersecurity standards
     
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Healthcare and medical-social services: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary cybersecurity standards for the health and medical-social sector.

  • HDS certification
  • DPO certification
  • SecNumCloud qualification AFAQ
  • certification Direct access to SNDS data
     
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Banking and services: cybersecurity objective

All AFNOR solutions based on voluntary blockchain standards for services and

  • finance. AFAQ Blockchain Trust
  • Certification NF Z64-951 standard
  • NF EN ISO 22739 standard Writing
  • blockchain standards
     

Cybersecurity standards you need to know about

Become certified in cybersecurity

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Would you like to have your best practices recognized, both as a company and as an individual (DPO), and demonstrate your compliance with commonly accepted quality and digital security criteria? AFNOR Certification is your partner. Our strengths

A well-known

  • and recognized trusted third party Comprehensive
  • expertise in standards and reference systems
  • A large pool of auditors

Get trained in cybersecurity

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SMSI audits, personal data, health data, cloud computing... Train yourself in information security management standards with AFNOR

Compétences. The essentials of our

  • offering A management system
  • approach A look at standardization and regulation How
  • to become an ISO 27001 or 27701 auditor

Our articles on cybersecurity

AFNOR helps you define your needs

Virginie Desbordes
Virginie DesbordesDigital Trust ExpertSee his Linkedin profile
Contact our expert

Our FAQs on electronic archiving and faithful digitization

Your questions about the approach and standards

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