PARIS — France is investigating a major cyberattack on its tax administration after confirming that sensitive information belonging to hundreds of thousands of taxpayers was accessed and
extracted.
The French Finance Ministry said the breach affected both individuals and businesses and involved the General Directorate of Public Finances, the authority responsible for administering the country’s tax system.
The incident came to light after a person claiming responsibility for the attack said on Wednesday that he had penetrated the tax agency’s systems in late June.
An initial investigation has since confirmed that the cyberattack took place and that a malicious actor was able to access and remove taxpayer information, the ministry said.
The scale of the breach became clearer on Friday, when the Finance Ministry said data belonging to 678,000 users had been stolen.
Officials have yet to establish precisely what information was compromised in each case, and further investigations are under way to determine the full scope of the incident.
The ministry said affected taxpayers would be contacted individually and informed about the data that may have been accessed or extracted. Where necessary, they will also be given advice on precautionary measures to protect themselves.
The breach adds to growing concerns across Europe over the vulnerability of public-sector databases holding large volumes of personal and financial information.
French authorities have not yet disclosed the identity of the attackers or indicated whether the stolen information has subsequently been published or offered for sale. Further details are expected as the investigation continues. Photo by jaydeep_, Wikimedia commons.
