Publicis Conseil and Orange have released the mockumentary every online user (that’s everyone, full stop) should watch. It’s called Phish where the fish are, and it follows the daily life of a fictitious start-up specialising in the design and sale of phishing kits enabling cyber crooks to hack like a pro. As the film notes at its end, the characters within it are actors, but the words just hear are inspired by the statements of cybercriminals.
Most people think they have the right instincts when it comes to cyberattacks – 78% of French people this campaign’s target audience do but 65% of that target audience regularly click on malicious links. The campaign uses black humour to bring awareness to France as phishing threats intensify.
The mockumentary, produced by Urbania Productions, reveals some very uncomfortable, and little understood truths. The cybercrime and hacking sector has radically changed and has become professionalised. Hacker groups have structured themselves, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, and have evolved their activities by creating and marketing increasingly sophisticated cyber scam tools, accessible to all on messaging platforms such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and others. Faced with these new cybercriminal organisations that are constantly innovating, Orange is offering a complete cybersecurity solution for individuals, leveraging the expertise of Orange Cyberdefense which was previously entirely dedicated to businesses.
To amplify the visibility of the docdrama, but also to create conversation, a network of influencers who are experts on the subject was activated. Influencers posted excerpts from the fake documentary on their social networks, without immediately revealing their connection with Orange. The full video was unveiled the following morning on the influencers’ accounts, but was also presented to the press at the opening of the conference organized by Orange and hosted by Christel Heydemann, CEO of Orange Group Worldwide; Jean-François Fallacher, executive president, CEO of Orange France; and Hugues Foulon, executive president, CEO Orange Cyberdefense.
The film is part of a wider communication campaign including a TV film, online videos (VOL), press ads and digital social media capsules broadcast on TikTok and Instagram. The aim is to promote Orange France’s B2C cybersecurity offer to the general public.
On June 6, Orange is launching a participative platform with the expertise of Orange Cyberdefense to improve everyone’s online security: cybersecurite.orange.fr. Orange aims to create the largest community of vigilant users to verify or report phishing scams following the example of Waze for road navigation. New verification requests analysed by Orange Cyberdefense are integrated in a database of active threats, in real time. Systematic use of the verification engine contributes to user protection, and ensures continuous improvement in line with new trends.
