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French Interior Ministry Cyberattack Sees Dozens of Sensitive Files Taken as 22-Year-Old Suspect Is Detained

Officials say attackers harvested passwords from ministry email to consult TAJ and FPR.

Overview

  • Authorities report that forensic work to date shows only a few dozen confidential files were extracted, contesting hacker claims of data on about 16.4 million people.
  • Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez calls the intrusion very serious and says no ransom demand has been received.
  • The Paris prosecutor’s office has opened a criminal probe led by the national cybercrime office (OFAC), with ANSSI and the CNIL engaged and an internal administrative inquiry underway.
  • A 22-year-old man already known to justice was arrested and placed in custody in connection with the case, with the arrest occurring in Haute-Vienne.
  • The ministry has closed compromised accounts, mandated two-factor authentication and flagged lapses such as plaintext password exchanges over email as enabling factors.