Cyberattacks against political parties: Scovery on B SMART
On 9 November 2026, Thomas Gayet, CEO and co-founder of Scovery, joined Delphine Sabattier on B SMART’s SMART TECH, alongside Florian Malecki, Southern Europe Director at KnowBe4. The discussion focused on cyberattacks against political parties and the protection of members’ data ahead of France’s 2027 presidential election.
Protecting data and the freedom to participate
Joining a political party should not mean having to make one’s political affiliation public. Thomas Gayet stressed that members must be able to take part in democratic life safely, without their convictions being exposed against their wishes.
Political parties must protect this sensitive information with structures and resources often similar to those of a small business or an association. Yet their digital exposure can be extensive: national websites, local branches, donation platforms, campaign tools and services managed by external providers.
See, understand and act on cyber exposure
The end of a campaign does not mean its tools have disappeared from the Internet. Legacy websites and services can remain accessible even when they are no longer useful. During the programme, Thomas Gayet outlined Scovery’s approach: see, understand, act.
- See all Internet-facing assets, including old websites and forgotten services.
- Understand vulnerabilities and establish who manages what, including external providers.
- Act by retiring tools that are no longer needed and fixing identified weaknesses.
This approach reflects Scovery’s cybersecurity posture monitoring capabilities: mapping exposed assets, identifying vulnerabilities and guiding corrective action.
Extending vigilance to suppliers
A political party’s security also depends on its ecosystem. When a data breach exposes an organisation, the compromise may have affected a provider entrusted with that data. Thomas Gayet highlighted the importance of monitoring suppliers’ security and helping smaller organisations improve.
Protecting party members’ data therefore helps preserve the trust needed for political engagement and democratic participation.
Watch SMART TECH’s 9 November 2026 programme on B SMART (12 min 37 sec, in French).