Matignon announced that several state services were the target of computer attacks of “unprecedented intensity”.
Several State services are the subject of computer attacks “whose technical modalities are classic but the intensity is unprecedented”, BFMTV learned from Matignon who specifies that “many ministerial services have been targeted”. The attack has been taking place since this Sunday, according to a government source.
“A crisis unit was activated yesterday evening to deploy countermeasures and guarantee the continuity of IT services,” specifies the government.
“At this stage, the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to State sites restored,” says Matignon.
The Interministerial Digital Directorate (Dinum) and the National Information Systems Security Agency (Anssi) “continue to implement filtering measures until these attacks end.”
Recurring attacks
Matignon did not specify the services concerned but it is not uncommon for state sites to be targeted by attacks. Last year, the Senate site and that of the National Assembly were the target of cyberattacks.
According to information from BFMTV, these are DDOS denial of service attacks, which consist of saturating a website with requests to bring it down. In this case, mailboxes and online calendars were targeted.
At this stage, there is no indication of a Russian attack but two groups have already claimed responsibility for these attacks. The first is Anonymous Sudan, a hacker group that targets Western countries opposed to Russia. The second is the NoName057(16) group, also pro-Russian.
Elections in the viewfinder
For several years, and in particular the start of the war in Ukraine, France has been regularly targeted by Russian or pro-Russian groups. These could include denial of services or ransomware attacks. Several French cities or hospitals have been hacked, such as that of Corbeil-Essonnes in 2022.
During February, the French Minister of the Armed Forces Sébastien Lecornu had called for the strengthening of security measures in the face of threats of Russian “sabotage and cyberattack” which target his ministry “first and foremost”.
The Paris Olympic Games are also another target for hackers. In its 2023 panorama, Anssi warned of a potential increase in attacks in this context.
Another pivotal moment: the European elections on June 9, a “considerable challenge and target” of foreign manipulation, according to the Secretary General of Defense and National Security (SGDSN), Stéphane Bouillon. The latter will also organize on March 29, for all French political parties presenting a list in the European elections, a “threat awareness” meeting.