French government says it's being targeted by unusual intense cyberattacks

12 March,2024 08:38 AM IST |  Paris  |  AP

A French official said they were denial-of-service attacks, a common type of cyberattack that involves flooding a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline

Representational Image. Pic Courtesy/iStock


The French government said Monday that several of its services have been targeted by cyberattacks of "unprecedented intensity," and a special crisis centre was activated to restore online services.

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said in a statement that the attacks started Sunday night and hit multiple government ministries, without providing details. By Monday afternoon, it said, "the impact of the attacks has been reduced for most services and access to government sites restored."

A group of hackers called Anonymous Sudan, which is considered by cybersecurity experts as pro-Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks in online posts. The French prime minister's office and digital safety agency wouldn't comment on the claim, or provide details of what was targeted or what damage might have been caused.

A French official said they were denial-of-service attacks, a common type of cyberattack that involves flooding a site with data in order to overwhelm it and knock it offline.

France's government has made a push to improve cyber defenses before the Paris Olympics this summer and after damaging ransomware attacks in recent years, including on hospitals in 2021.

The French government has accused Russia of operating a long-running online manipulation campaign against Ukraine's Western backers, including by mirroring the French Foreign Ministry website among other methods. President Emmanuel Macron has taken an increasingly tough line against Moscow and the war that Russian President Vladimir Putin started in Ukraine.

This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
france paris news world news International news
Related Stories