Massive cyberattack targeting ministries: an investigation opened by the Paris prosecutor’s office

2024-03-12 17:47:06

The Paris prosecutor’s office is opening an investigation after a massive cyberattack targeting ministries. Several state services have, since Sunday, been the subject of computer attacks of “unprecedented intensity” but their impact at this stage “has been reduced” and access to state sites “restored” , Matignon had indicated.

“This investigation concerns the offense of obstructing an automated data system committed by an organized gang, incurring 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros,” underlined the prosecution, specifying that the investigation had been entrusted in joint referral to the DGSI and the C3N (Center for the fight against digital crime of the national gendarmerie).

VIDEO. Pro-Russian hackers claim massive cyberattack against state services

The hackers carried out a denial of service (DDoS) attack, which aims to make a server inaccessible by sending multiple requests until it saturates. This type of offensive has become a scourge for companies and organizations in recent years. “It’s a low-cost cyberattack that’s very easy to launch and very painful to deal with from the first seconds,” Fanch Francis, co-founder of the cybersecurity start-up NANO Corp and former analyst at the Ministry of the Armed Forces, told Le Parisien.

Claimed by several hackers

These cyberattacks were claimed on the encrypted messaging service Telegram by various hacker groups, including Anonymous Sudan, a group that supports Russia and several Islamist causes. These hackers spoke of a “massive cyberattack” targeting in particular the ministries of the Economy, Culture, Ecological Transition, the Prime Minister’s services or the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC).

Anonymous Sudan’s claim is “credible”, a source close to the matter told AFP on Monday, with another security source urging caution.

The Prime Minister’s services also clarified on Monday that “the mobilized teams from DINUM (Interministerial Digital Directorate) and ANSSI (National Agency for Information Systems Security) continue to implement filtering measures until ‘at the end of these attacks’.