French state services have been hit by cyberattacks of “unprecedented intensity”, according to multiple media sources. The office of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal announced on March 11 that despite the seriousness of these cyberattacks against France, the government had managed to contain their impact.
The Prime Minister’s Office revealed that several ministerial departments had been targeted since the beginning of the month, using familiar technical methods but with an intensity never seen before. However, no specific details regarding the specific targets have been disclosed.
Cyberattacks against France: compromised states and administrations
In response to the cyberattack against the French state, a dedicated “crisis unit” was activated to deploy countermeasures, which helped reduce the impact of the attacks on most services and restore access to state websites.
Specialized agencies, including French National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI)have quickly implemented filtering measures to effectively combat ongoing attacks.
However, it appears that many websites related to French power, military, economy and other critical infrastructure are down or unavailable at the moment.
Amid the cyberattacks, Anonymous Soudan, a prolific hacker group, took responsibility for these cyberattacks against the French state, stating: “We carried out a massive operation. cyber attack on the infrastructures of the Interministerial Digital Directorate. Their infrastructure includes over 17,000 IP addresses and devices as well as over 300 domains which have all been heavily destroyed.
The authenticity of these claims, however, could not be verified. Anonymous Sudan claims to have launched a DDoS attack campaign on France in its latest article on the dark web.
Cyberattacks against the French state and other connections
Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu particularly stressed the need to strengthen protection against sabotage and cyber threats, particularly from Russia, underlining the seriousness of the situation.
In a press release shared by the presidency of the French government, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal indicated: “Many ministerial services have been targeted with familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity. A crisis unit has been activated to deploy countermeasures, meaning that the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to state websites has been restored.
The timing of these cyberattacks against France is raising concerns, particularly following recent warnings from defense advisers about potential threats during major events such as the Paris Olympic Games and the upcoming elections to the European Parliament.
Additionally, France ranks among the top ten countries in the world in cybersecurity preparedness, according to the study. National Cybersecurity Index and the Global Cybersecurity Index.
However, a study carried out in 2022 by Ipsos and Sopra Steria shows a strong concern among French citizens regarding cyber threats. Despite legislative efforts, cyberattacks remain frequent, with notable incidents such as the breach of the National Assembly website.
French companies spend 10.7% of their IT budget on security, lower than the global average, and are lagging behind in the adoption of cloud-based security solutions. The new laws require rapid reporting of cyber incidents and establish specialized police units. The Network and Information Systems Security Act of 2018 imposes cybersecurity measures for essential services and digital providers.
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