October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month across Europe, and here in France we have our own version called "Cybermois" (basically "Cyber Month" in English).
The event takes place every October and is coordinated in France by Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, a government-backed platform dedicated to helping victims of cybercrime and raising awareness about online threats.
The idea is pretty simple: encourage people to take cybersecurity more seriously, whether they're individuals, businesses, schools or public institutions.
And considering the number of data breaches, ransomware attacks and phishing campaigns we've seen in France over the past few years, I'd say it's definitely needed.
What's happening this year?
The 2026 campaign is called "Se Cyber Protéger, ce n'est pas si bête", which roughly translates to "Protecting yourself online isn't that complicated."
Throughout October, there are conferences, workshops, awareness campaigns and other events organized across France.
There's also a CyberTour de France, stopping in several cities including Biarritz, Rennes, Lille, Rouen, Montpellier and Paris.
One thing I found interesting is that the French data protection authority (CNIL) has also partnered with Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr to publish a practical guide explaining what people should do after their personal information has been exposed in a data breach.
Why I think this matters
Working in cybersecurity, I often notice that people still underestimate how much damage a simple phishing email or a reused password can cause.
We spend a lot of time talking about sophisticated malware, zero-days and advanced threat actors, but sometimes an attacker doesn't need any of that. A convincing phishing page and a stolen password can be enough.
Of course, a month of awareness campaigns isn't going to solve everything, but at least it gets people talking about cybersecurity outside of our usual IT circles.
If you're interested, here are a few official links:
The websites are mostly in French, but your browser's translation feature should do the job.
I'm curious, do you have similar cybersecurity awareness campaigns in your country? And do you think these initiatives actually make a difference, or are they mostly just communication campaigns?
The event takes place every October and is coordinated in France by Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr, a government-backed platform dedicated to helping victims of cybercrime and raising awareness about online threats.
The idea is pretty simple: encourage people to take cybersecurity more seriously, whether they're individuals, businesses, schools or public institutions.
And considering the number of data breaches, ransomware attacks and phishing campaigns we've seen in France over the past few years, I'd say it's definitely needed.
What's happening this year?
The 2026 campaign is called "Se Cyber Protéger, ce n'est pas si bête", which roughly translates to "Protecting yourself online isn't that complicated."
Throughout October, there are conferences, workshops, awareness campaigns and other events organized across France.
There's also a CyberTour de France, stopping in several cities including Biarritz, Rennes, Lille, Rouen, Montpellier and Paris.
One thing I found interesting is that the French data protection authority (CNIL) has also partnered with Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr to publish a practical guide explaining what people should do after their personal information has been exposed in a data breach.
Why I think this matters
Working in cybersecurity, I often notice that people still underestimate how much damage a simple phishing email or a reused password can cause.
We spend a lot of time talking about sophisticated malware, zero-days and advanced threat actors, but sometimes an attacker doesn't need any of that. A convincing phishing page and a stolen password can be enough.
Of course, a month of awareness campaigns isn't going to solve everything, but at least it gets people talking about cybersecurity outside of our usual IT circles.
If you're interested, here are a few official links:
- Cybermois 2026: https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/to...rmois-2026
- Events across France: https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/to...-cybermois
- CyberTour de France: https://www.cybermalveillance.gouv.fr/to...rance-2026
The websites are mostly in French, but your browser's translation feature should do the job.
I'm curious, do you have similar cybersecurity awareness campaigns in your country? And do you think these initiatives actually make a difference, or are they mostly just communication campaigns?