CESIN

What CESIN does

CESIN (Club des Experts de la Sécurité de l'Information et du Numérique) is a French non-profit professional association under the law of 1901, founded in 2014 (with firmographic data also citing 2012), headquartered at 115 rue Saint-Dominique in Paris. Its purpose is to bring together cybersecurity leaders — primarily CISOs and RSSI (Responsables de la Sécurité des Systèmes d'Information) — from large enterprises, mid-market companies, and public administrations across all sectors of the French economy, with the stated objective of collectively raising organizational cybersecurity maturity. The association reports more than 1,200 individual members and operates a recurring program of activities including a bi-monthly plenary cycle, thematic and sectoral working groups (LABs) producing white papers, an annual congress (14th edition scheduled for December 2026), a Summer University, 'Ateliers Connectés' workshops with vendor sponsors, a weekly 'Question de la semaine' survey, an annual cybersecurity barometer (11th edition), a document repository of 736+ items, and a job board. CESIN also co-produces the TPRM Observatory with Board of Cyber and has co-published studies on AI governance for CISOs with Thales, third-party risk with Cybervadis, and digital sovereignty with Forum INCYBER.

CESIN does not develop or sell technology products; its core activity is knowledge dissemination, peer exchange, regulatory watch (NIS2, DORA, Cyber Resilience Act), and convening the French cybersecurity leadership community. Its revenue model rests on two streams: annual individual membership fees (pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed) and sponsorship revenue from a roster of more than 20 cybersecurity vendors and service providers — including Thales, Sekoia, SentinelOne, Cloudflare, Advens, Gatewatcher, I-Tracing, Kudelski Security, Headmind, Yes We Hack, Cybervadis, Harfanglab, and others — who gain access to the CISO community through workshops, plenaries, and co-produced research. Governance is by elected leadership; the current President is Fabrice Bru (Director of Cybersecurity and Architecture at STIME – Groupement Les Mousquetaires), elected in January 2025 succeeding co-founder Mylène Jarossay. The association employs 76 staff and is structurally embedded in the broader European ecosystem via a board seat at ECSO (since July 2025) and joint sovereign-cyber tooling with Hexatrust (Cyber Panorama, December 2025).

The go-to-market is community-led rather than commercial: CESIN recruits CISOs through peer referrals, professional networks, and a LinkedIn presence; 'distribution' is the delivery of membership benefits (events, publications, working groups, surveys, networking) rather than the sale of products or services. Channel-wise, the cesin.fr website serves as the primary enrollment and document-access surface, with LinkedIn and the annual congress as top-of-funnel and community-building channels, and a newsletter, press releases, and white papers as mid-funnel engagement assets. The customer/member base is highly distributed across sectors, while the sponsorship side is broader than typical — over 20 named cybersecurity vendors participate — which materially reduces concentration risk on either side of the revenue model.

Name

CESIN

Legal name

Club des Experts de la Sécurité de l'Information et du Numérique (CESIN)

Website

https://cesin.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

CESIN is a French non-profit professional association of 1,200+ cybersecurity leaders (CISOs/RSSI) from enterprises and public administrations, providing peer networking, thematic working groups, an annual congress, and recurring research such as its cybersecurity barometer, funded by membership fees and vendor sponsorships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services (Cybersecurity)

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Policy & Compliance Management (HDADAIAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Privacy, Data Protection & Cyber Governance (GRC) (BPAHAFAF)

Keywords

• Professional association
• Cybersecurity community
• CISO membership
• Information security network
• Industry working groups

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: CESIN generates revenue through annual membership fees paid by cybersecurity professionals (RSSI/CISO) from enterprises and public administrations. Members gain access to plenary sessions, thematic working groups (LABs), white papers, a job board, expert forums, and networking events. The organization also receives sponsorship revenue from cybersecurity vendors who participate in the club's events and activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CESIN is a non-profit professional association that delivers a paid membership platform for chief information security officers (CISO/RSSI) working in French enterprises and public administrations. Members receive access to an annual cybersecurity congress, bi-monthly plenary sessions, thematic working groups that produce white papers, a members-only document repository, weekly benchmarking surveys, a job board, and vendor-hosted connected workshops, with the association's stated goal being to collectively raise the cybersecurity maturity of French organizations. Revenue comes from annual membership dues paid by corporate and governmental members and from sponsorship contributions by cybersecurity vendors.

Product overview

CESIN is a professional association (Club des Experts de la Sécurité de l'Information et du Numérique) for cybersecurity professionals, not a product company. It does not offer technology products or services but rather provides a community platform for its members including annual congresses, plenary sessions, thematic working groups (LABs), publications, weekly surveys, a job board, and document repository. All activities focus on cybersecurity knowledge sharing, regulatory compliance discussions (NIS2, DORA), and professional networking among cybersecurity experts from French enterprises and administrations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CESIN Membership (CISO/RSSI professional membership) Paid annual membership in the Club des Experts de la Sécurité de l'Information et du Numérique for CISO/RSSI professionals from French enterprises and public administrations; delivers access to plenaries, thematic working groups, white papers, the annual barometer, weekly surveys, a document repository, the job board, and networking events.
• CESIN Annual Congress Annual in-person congress open to all digital professionals, delivering a comprehensive overview of information security issues through keynotes, panels, and workshops; 14th edition scheduled for December 1-2, 2026.
• CESIN Plenary Sessions (Réunions du club) Recurring members-only plenary meetings where CISO/RSSI members from all sectors compare viewpoints, share experience feedback, and exchange transparently on cybersecurity topics.
• Thematic Working Groups (LABs) and White Papers Members-only thematic or sectoral working groups that collaborate to produce white papers on cybersecurity topics, including co-authored publications with partners such as Forum INCYBER and I-Tracing.
• Ateliers Connectés (Connected Workshops) Vendor-hosted online workshops delivered to CESIN members in partnership with cybersecurity sponsors, covering topics such as autonomous SOC, AI in security, EDR, IAM, vulnerability management, and NIS2/DORA compliance.
• Annual Cybersecurity Barometer Annual survey-based report benchmarking cybersecurity maturity in French organizations, published by CESIN as a recognized industry benchmark; now in its 11th edition for 2025-2026.
• TPRM Observatory (Observatoire du risque cyber lié aux fournisseurs) Annual observatory co-produced with Board of Cyber examining third-party cyber risk, surveying 100+ cybersecurity leaders on supply-chain cyber risk issues; 2024 and 2025 editions documented.
• Cyber Panorama (Sovereign Cybersecurity Solutions Directory) Operational directory tool jointly launched with Hexatrust on December 8, 2025, designed to guide organizations toward sovereign cybersecurity solutions and promote European cybersecurity vendors.
• CESIN Summer University (Université d'été) Annual summer university programme for members, providing focused thematic sessions on cybersecurity strategy and practice; 7th edition referenced in association materials.
• CESIN Job Board Online job board accessible through the CESIN members' portal, supporting cybersecurity talent recruitment and mobility across French organizations.
• Question de la semaine (Weekly Member Survey) Weekly online survey tool distributed to members, providing rapid pulse-check and peer benchmarking on current cybersecurity topics.
• Regulatory Watch (Veille Réglementaire) and Daily Vulnerability Watch (Veille Vulnérabilités et Incidents) Ongoing watch services covering cybersecurity regulation (including NIS2, DORA, and the Cyber Resilience Act) and daily vulnerability and incident monitoring, distributed via the cesin.fr website and member newsletter.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• HexatrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 December 2025CESIN and Hexatrust jointly launched the 'Cyber Panorama,' an operational tool designed to guide organizations toward sovereign cybersecurity solutions. This partnership addresses digital sovereignty concerns by promoting European cybersecurity vendors.
• ECSO (European Cyber Security Organisation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 July 2025CESIN joined the ECSO Board of Directors in July 2025. Frank Van Caenegem represents CESIN and co-chairs the European CISO community within ECSO. This partnership enables CESIN to influence European cybersecurity policy and connect French CISOs with the broader European cybersecurity ecosystem.
• Cyber4TomorrowminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2025CESIN and Cyber4Tomorrow united in June 2025 to accelerate the integration of environmental considerations into cybersecurity practices. This partnership reflects the growing interest in sustainable/green cybersecurity.
• Forum INCYBERcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESIN and Forum INCYBER collaborate on joint white papers, including 'Zero Trust, le nouveau paradigme' and 'Maîtriser nos dépendances numériques' (Managing our digital dependencies). They also co-host sessions at the Forum INCYBER event.
• Board of CybercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCESIN and Board of Cyber co-produce the annual 'Observatoire du risque cyber lié aux fournisseurs' (TPRM Observatory), examining third-party cyber risk. The 2024 and 2025 editions surveyed over 100 cybersecurity leaders on supply chain cyber risks.
• CYBERECOminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCYBERECO is listed as a CESIN partner, representing the Canadian cybersecurity ecosystem and facilitating cross-border collaboration.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ISACA: Global association for IT governance, risk, cybersecurity, and audit professionals with ~170,000 members. Directly comparable in mission (advancing professional practice in cyber GRC), structure (membership association, chapters, certifications), and revenue model (dues + conferences + publications).
• IAPP: International Association of Privacy Professionals, a global member community for privacy, data protection, and cyber governance practitioners. Directly comparable to CESIN's privacy/data protection/cyber governance remit, with similar membership, certification, and policy-advocacy model.
• Cloud Security Alliance: Global nonprofit organization focused on cloud security best practices, research, and certifications. Comparable to CESIN as a vendor-supported, member-driven community producing white papers, working groups, and vendor workshops around cybersecurity topics.
• (ISC)²: International nonprofit association of certified cybersecurity professionals (CISSP, CCSP). Comparable to CESIN as a globally scaled, member-driven cybersecurity community with certification, education, and thought leadership programs.
• CLUSIF: French association for information and digital security professionals, the closest domestic peer to CESIN. Both are French membership-based cybersecurity associations producing barometers, white papers, and events for CISOs and security leaders.

Broad incumbents

• SANS Institute: Larger, established global cybersecurity training and research organization. Overlaps with CESIN on research dissemination and CISO education but operates at much greater scale across paid training, certifications, and threat intelligence rather than as a peer association.
• ECSO: European Cyber Security Organisation, the pan-European umbrella body for public-private cybersecurity collaboration of which CESIN is now a board member. Broader in scope (policy, R&D, ecosystem) and operates as an industry consortium rather than a CISO peer association.

Others

• Hexatrust: French consortium of sovereign cybersecurity vendors with which CESIN co-developed the 'Cyber Panorama.' Not a peer association but an adjacent ecosystem partner enabling CESIN's sovereign-cybersecurity positioning.

Regional players

• Forum INCYBER: Major European cybersecurity event (formerly Forum International de la Cybersécurité, Lille). Comparable as a French/European cybersecurity gathering point that co-produces content with CESIN (joint white papers) and overlaps on CISO audience.

Emerging players

• OWASP Foundation: Global nonprofit foundation for software security producing open-source tools, standards, and community chapters. Comparable as a vendor-independent, community-driven security organization with working groups and publications, though focused on application rather than enterprise/CISO security.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cesin-club

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CESIN