Security
Major cyber attack hits French ministries
Hackers have attacked several government agencies in France. photo
© Sina Schuldt/dpa
Pro-Russian hackers claimed responsibility for the attack. However, it is unclear at this point that Russia is really behind this, according to the French security authorities.
Several ministries and government institutions in France are affected by a large-scale Cyberattack hit. Since Sunday evening, several government agencies have been hit by computer attacks of “unprecedented intensity,” the government said, French media reported.
A crisis team was activated in the evening to take countermeasures. The impact of the attacks has been reduced for most government services and access to government websites has been restored, it said.
As the newspapers “Le Monde” and “Le Parisien” as well as the broadcaster BFMTV reported, pro-Russian hackers claimed responsibility for the attack. These attacks “cannot be attributed to the Russians at this stage,” Le Parisien quoted a security official as saying.
France accuses Russia of increasing destabilization attempts since the start of the Ukraine war. In mid-February, France agreed with Germany and Poland to take joint action against Russian troll campaigns and cyberattacks. The three countries were victims of the same Russian destabilization strategy and wanted to defend themselves together, it was said.