Risky Business
Risky Business #822 -- France Will Ditch American Tech over Security Risks
Risky Business
•January 28, 2026•1h 4m
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Risky Business•Jan 28, 2026
Why It Matters
These stories illustrate how geopolitical tensions are reshaping technology choices and exposing critical infrastructure to state‑backed attacks, underscoring the need for robust, sovereign security strategies. Understanding the evolving tactics—like AI‑enhanced phishing and exploit generation—helps organizations anticipate and defend against the next wave of cyber threats.
Key Takeaways
- •France mandates Visio, dropping Zoom/Teams by 2027.
- •Digital sovereignty drives Europe to replace US software suites.
- •Open‑source tools like Grist and T‑Chap aim to fill gaps.
- •Security testing of new platforms may lag Microsoft’s maturity.
- •AI‑generated email impersonations now 20% of attacks.
Pulse Analysis
France’s new "suite numérique" plan marks a decisive shift toward digital sovereignty, ordering government agencies to retire Zoom and Microsoft Teams in favor of the home‑grown Visio platform by 2027. The move reflects growing European unease about reliance on U.S. cloud services amid geopolitical tensions, and it mirrors earlier attempts to adopt open‑source office suites such as OpenOffice. By targeting the public sector first, France hopes to create a critical mass that can bootstrap a broader market for domestically controlled collaboration tools, encouraging other EU nations to follow suit.
The feasibility of replacing entrenched ecosystems like Teams and Zoom hinges on the maturity of emerging alternatives. Germany’s T‑Chap messaging service, built on Matrix, and Grist’s hybrid spreadsheet‑database app illustrate a growing toolbox of open‑source solutions. Yet, security testing, compatibility, and user‑experience challenges remain significant. Microsoft’s decades‑long hardening of Office and Teams gives it a resilience edge that nascent platforms may lack, potentially exposing early adopters to interoperability gaps and unpatched vulnerabilities. Stakeholders must weigh the strategic benefit of sovereignty against the practical risk of operating less‑tested software in mission‑critical environments.
Across the Atlantic, the episode highlighted parallel security pressures: AI‑generated email impersonations surged from 4% to 20% of attacks, QR‑code phishing continues to rise, and state‑backed actors like Sandworm target critical infrastructure. These trends underscore the urgency for organizations to adopt layered defenses, zero‑trust architectures, and robust incident‑response capabilities regardless of the underlying collaboration suite. As Europe re‑engineers its software supply chain, businesses should monitor both the geopolitical drivers and the evolving threat landscape to ensure that sovereignty does not come at the expense of security.
Episode Description
In this week’s show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week’s cybersecurity news. They discuss:
La France is tres sérieux about ditching US productivity software
China’s Salt Typhoon was snooping on Downing Street
Trump wields the mighty DISCOMBOBULATOR
ESET says the Polish power grid wiper was Russia’s GRU Sandworm crew
US cyber institutions CISA and NIST are struggling
Voice phishing for MFA bypass is getting even more polished
This episode is sponsored by Sublime Security. Brian Baskin is one of the team behind Sublime’s 2026 Email Threat Research report. He joins to talk through what they see of attackers’ use of AI, as well as the other trends of the year.
Show notes
France to ditch US platforms Microsoft Teams, Zoom for ‘sovereign platform’ amid security concerns | Euronews
Suite Numérique plan - Google Search
China hacked Downing Street phones for years
Cyberattack Targeting Poland’s Energy Grid Used a Wiper
Trump says U.S. used secret 'discombobulator' on Venezuelan equipment during Maduro raid | PBS News
Risky Bulletin: Cyberattack cripples cars across Russia - Risky Business Media
Lawmakers probe CISA leader over staffing decisions | CyberScoop
Trump’s acting cyber chief uploaded sensitive files into a public version of ChatGPT - POLITICO
Acting CISA director failed a polygraph. Career staff are now under investigation. - POLITICO
NIST is rethinking its role in analyzing software vulnerabilities | Cybersecurity Dive
Federal agencies abruptly pull out of RSAC after organizer hires Easterly | Cybersecurity Dive
Real-Time phishing kits target Okta, Microsoft, Google
Phishing kits adapt to the script of callers
On the Coming Industrialisation of Exploit Generation with LLMs – Sean Heelan's Blog
GitHub - SeanHeelan/anamnesis-release: Automatic Exploit Generation with LLMs
Overrun with AI slop, cURL scraps bug bounties to ensure "intact mental health" - Ars Technica
Bypassing Windows Administrator Protection - Project Zero
Task Failed Successfully - Microsoft’s “Immediate” Retirement of MDT - SpecterOps
Kubernetes Remote Code Execution Via Nodes/Proxy GET Permission
WhatsApp's Latest Privacy Protection: Strict Account Settings - WhatsApp Blog
Microsoft gave FBI a set of BitLocker encryption keys to unlock suspects' laptops: Reports | TechCrunch
He Leaked the Secrets of a Southeast Asian Scam Compound. Then He Had to Get Out Alive | WIRED
Key findings from the 2026 Sublime Email Threat Research Report
Show Notes
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