A student on the My Home School platform. (drawing) – ALAIN JOCARD / AFP
The cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office opened an investigation Tuesday after a series of computer attacks against the Cned platform on the first day of the return of distance school education linked to the pandemic, we learned on Wednesday from of the Paris prosecutor’s office. This investigation, entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight against Crime Related to Information and Communication Technologies (OCLTIC), was opened for “fraudulent access to an automated processing system” and “obstruction of operation” d ‘such a system, said the prosecution confirming information from France Televisions.
The Cned (National Center for Distance Learning) had indicated on Tuesday evening its intention to “file a complaint”, “in the face of these deliberate acts of malicious intent”. He mentioned in particular “several dozen attacks against the educational continuity site” My Class at Home “, which could not be completely blocked by the operator”. The Minister of Education Jean-Michel Blanquer had mentioned as early as Tuesday morning a “very strong computer attack from abroad”, without further details on its origin.
150,000 virtual classes active one hour after the attack
The CNED also explained that it had transmitted “all the technical elements related to these cyberattacks” to the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Anssi). The attacks came as distance education became widespread for this week from the closing of schools on Friday night and until the unified spring break from April 12. Before a return to school on April 26 face-to-face in schools and an additional week in middle and high schools.
“Despite these malicious acts”, some “500,000 students and teachers accessed the platforms” at 10 am and “150,000 virtual classes were active,” said the minister on Tuesday. The influx of connections also caused significant difficulties on Tuesday in accessing another digital educational tool for school education, the ENT (digital work environments), managed by local communities.