Protect your network, your data, and the continuity of public services

A simple, actionable reference page for municipalities, departments, and regions: network mapping, segmentation, remote access, backups, compliance (GDPR/RGS), incident management, and staff awareness.

Key Challenges for Local Authorities

Service Continuity

Ensure uninterrupted delivery of civil registry, education, urban planning, and social services.

Data Protection

Personal data (GDPR), staff files, financial information — confidentiality & integrity.

Citizen Trust

Transparency, traceability, and clear communication in the event of an incident.

Incident Response Plan

Short Response Chain

    • Detect & qualify (SOC/EDR/SIEM, staff reporting)
    • Contain (isolate VLANs, disable shares, block IOCs)
    • Eradicate (patching, secret rotation, cleanup)
    • Recover (DRP/BCP, business validation, communication)

Useful Contacts

    • ANSSI / CERT-FR — assistance & advisories
    • Police/Gendarmerie — complaints, legal process
    • Cyber insurance — declaration & support
    • CNIL — data breach notification

Compliance Checklist

Weeks 1–2

      • Appoint a security lead (CISO or equivalent)
      • Start system mapping (assets, flows, data)
      • Enable MFA on email & VPN

Weeks 3–6

    • Implement basic VLANs and ACLs
    • Deploy EDR on servers/critical workstations
    • Configure 3-2-1 backups + restoration test

Weeks 7–12

    • Centralize logs (syslog/SIEM) and alerts
    • Finalize ISSP + key procedures; conduct a table-top exercise
    • Review privileged accounts & enforce minimal PA

Architecture

Block
Perimeter
DMZ
Segmented LAN
Remote Access
Identities
Cloud
Objective
Control inbound/outbound traffic
Isolate exposed services
Limit lateral movement
Secure telework & third-party access
Control authentication
Control SaaS/IaaS
Best Practices
L7 firewall, IPS, filtering proxy, secure DNS (internal DoT/DoH), geo-blocking if relevant
Reverse proxy, WAF, logging, no direct access to internal IS
VLANs by business/criticality, inter-VLAN ACLs, NAC/802.1X, micro-segmentation when possible
MFA VPN, managed devices, least privilege, logging
MFA everywhere, PAM for privileged accounts, SSO, passwords + passkeys
DPA clauses, encryption, SSO/MFA, log export, SecNumCloud assessment when applicable

Technical Measures

1) Segmentation & Hardening

    • Map assets and flows; classify by criticality
    • Business, server, guest VLANs; strict ACLs; east-west blocking by default
    • NAC/802.1X on switches; device allow-lists
    • System hardening (CIS/ANSSI); disable unused services; least privilege

3) Perimeter Security

    • Next-gen firewall + IDS/IPS; logs to SIEM/syslog
    • Web proxy with category filtering, anti-malware, TLS inspection where allowed
    • Filtered DNS + signed responses; block risky domains

2) Workstations & Servers

    • Managed EDR/antivirus; application isolation; USB device control
    • Patch management (WSUS/Intune/Ansible); SLA: 30 days (critical: 72h)
    • Disk encryption (BitLocker/FileVault) with protected keys (TPM)

4) Backups & Resilience

    • 3-2-1 rule: 3 copies, 2 media, 1 offline/immutable
    • Quarterly restore tests; evidence logs
    • Documented DRP/BCP; ransomware, disaster, and loss-of-access scenarios

Useful Ressources

Guides & Tools

    • ANSSI Cyber Hygiene Guide

    • CERT-FR Ransomware Recommendations

    • CNIL & ANSSI Awareness Toolkit

    • Local authority ISSP templates

    • Practical tools for strengthening operational security

Ready-to-Use Templates

    • Password & MFA policy

    • Access rights management procedure

    • 3-2-1 backup & restoration plan

    • Incident response plan

    • Change management & maintenance window procedure

Staff Awareness

Quarterly campaigns (simulated phishing), 10-minute micro-training sessions, and a signed IT usage charter.
Key topics: passwords, MFA, attachments, personal data, mobility.

Posters

Simple visuals for municipal buildings, schools, and media libraries.

e‑Learning

Training paths for staff and elected officials; onboarding module.

Exercises

“Ransomware attack” table-top exercise, 90 minutes, twice a year.