The University of Technology of Troyes at the forefront of training against cybercrime: “It’s not just about technology but also about people”

From Paris to Athens, via Montenegro and Brussels, Reza Elgalai is a man who travels a lot. It must be said that the director of the Institute of Cybersecurity Training and Research Technology (ITFoRCy) has become a reference in training and prevention against cybercrime. Since 2010, he has led the training of gendarmerie cyber investigators at the University of Technology of Troyes (UTT) with a professional license, to which was added other one-off training and a bac + 6 in security of information systems.

Thanks to the associative movement driven at the national level by the UTT, “from this year, we will train the equivalent of the gendarmes of Montenegro, Albania, Serbia, Kosovo… We will issue them with the same diploma that we issue to our gendarmes and we should have a major training agreement for companies in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,” specifies Reza Elgalai. An expertise that has allowed UTT to weave its web from the Aube department to the European level, responding effectively to the constantly evolving challenges of digital security.

Adapt to future threats, such as connected vehicles

La Poste, BNP, EDF, the ministries of Justice, the Interior, Foreign Affairs, but also the Financial Markets Authority (AMF), the National Financial Prosecutor’s Office (PNF) and even Customs… All this beautiful world trusts the Troyan University to train its agents. “We have a growing demand for cybersecurity training… Either we build new ones, or we try to see how people can add to our training to obtain a diploma or, at least, validate certain blocks of skills,” adds Reza Elgalai.

Protection against cyberattacks is becoming increasingly essential in businesses, administrations and even hospitals, in the face of ever-increasing digitalization. “The idea is to create an ecosystem that will be able to provide training, prevention, awareness and incident response. » In the case of phishing, data theft with malware and ransom demands for example, “the objective would be to have a team that could respond to that. We are in the process of identifying companies that could resolve cyber incidents,” indicates the expert.

With initial advice that is often quite simple, such as “make backups upstream and above all disconnected from the network. Because once a hacker gets into a system, they can just as easily encrypt the backups.” By giving space to the human and social sciences, ITFoRCy also intends to fight against the manipulation to which victims may be subjected. “We think that Cyber ​​is just technology,” notes Reza Elgalai. “We want to see all this from a new angle by looking at human behavior and not just the technical aspect,” insists Reza Elgalai.

Small games with puzzles to solve as an educational method

To transmit this new knowledge to a varied audience, the Institute will notably rely on innovative teaching, small games or challenges with puzzles to solve, which allow you to advance step by step in learning. “We can target skills better than through a traditional student assignment,” emphasizes the trainer. On the program: security monitoring, setting up training platforms, “to simulate potential attacks on the network and see what should be done to improve security”, without forgetting a partnership chair in cybersecurity, a program of research associated with companies wishing to invest at least 100,000 euros. “In this area, it’s only the good guys versus the bad guys. We are not in opposition to each other, we are really in collaboration,” recalls Reza Elgalai.

Another challenge is adaptation to new European regulatory standards. The GDPR (general data protection regulation), well known to Internet users who must give their consent to a site when it comes to collecting personal data, has made some changes. In the banking sector in particular, but also industrial for the management of water and electricity networks, or even in that of transport and health, essential sectors which are the subject of a new NIS2 rule since the end of 2024 : “Companies will have to comply with cyber protection regulations. As soon as they are not and they are attacked, there will be a big fine with a percentage of the turnover! », Warns the director of ITFoRCy. Artificial Intelligence will also take its place, with the development of tools dedicated to investigation or to be able to defend against any computer attack.

The idea is also to make the link with the future regional cyber campus. “The Paris Cyber ​​Campus, through the will of Emmanuel Macron, has made it possible to put companies and schools in the same building so that they can meet and work together… except that everything is in Paris,” explains Reza Elgalai . “The regions wanted their own campus and one is currently being created in the Grand Est. The region has requested that there be approximately 6 complementary centers of cyber excellence distributed in large cities in the territory. Troyes is one of them and the UTT will, in fact, be the leader there. »

A file that has become a priority for Troyes Champagne Métropole, which intends to make it a center of excellence for attracting students and companies with expertise in cybersecurity to the Troyes area. At the same time, a new partnership with the French gendarmerie will emerge: “They aim to train young gendarmes and direct them towards cybersecurity as soon as they put on uniform. From October 2025, we should be entrusted with 120 gendarmes who will be trained in groups for 4 weeks to be able to become cyber investigators later,” rejoices Reza Elgalai.