Ecritel, a French hosting and managed services provider, has been certified by ANSSI, the National Agency for Information System Security, as a SecNumCloud provider. This certification, which marks its tenth anniversary this year, ensures that a cloud service meets strict standards for organizations dealing with sensitive data. It is designed to protect such data from risks posed by foreign laws outside of France. Since this summer, it has been required to store the most sensitive state data within these certified systems. Ecritel's new certification covers two of its in-house services: Ecritel Secure Cloud, a private cloud that hosts applications and sensitive data for companies and public services, and Ecritel Secure Backup, the first SecNumCloud backup solution to receive this qualification. The backup service is intended to ensure that an organization's data remains safe and can be restored in the event of a disaster, particularly in response to ransomware attacks that often target backup systems. The ANSSI certification process includes both document and technical audits conducted by approved organizations, such as AFNOR Certification or LSTI. The list of certified providers includes major players in the infrastructure sector like OVHcloud, Outscale, Orange Business Services, and S3NS, a subsidiary of Thales linked to Google Cloud. The list also includes less obvious names such as Wimi, a collaborative software suite, and Pronote, a popular application used by students, parents, and teachers. Ecritel is a 100% French hosting and managed services provider that not only hosts its customers' servers but also operates and monitors them. The data is stored in Ecritel's data centers located in France, with 24/7 managed services and support provided by teams based in metropolitan France, Guadeloupe, and Polynesia. All these locations comply with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Audrey Louail, co-president of Ecritel, said the certification is "the culmination of two years of commitment around security and investments in both material and human resources." She emphasized that "being the first to have a backup offering certified translates our conviction that sovereignty is only valid if the data remains recoverable, including after an attack." Ecritel holds several other certifications, including ISO 27001 for information security, ISO 9001 for service quality, ISO/IEC 20000 for information service management, and the ISAE 3402 audit, which confirms the reliability of its internal controls. It also holds sector-specific certifications such as HDS for hosting health data and PCI DSS for securing credit card data. Supported by France 2030, the French government's investment plan, Ecritel's project aims to provide a trusted, French, and independent cloud service. As cyber threats and regulatory requirements increase, the market is becoming more competitive. It remains to be seen how many of Ecritel's competitors will follow suit in the coming months, with several platforms currently undergoing the qualification process.