French Finance Ministry Confirms Cyberattack Exposed 678,000 Taxpayers' Data
Details of the Cyberattack on French Tax Agency
Incident Overview
PARIS, Aug 14 (Reuters) - French taxpayers' data, both individuals and professionals, were stolen in a cyberattack, the French Finance Ministry said late on Thursday.
Attack Claim and Timeline
• A "malicious actor" claimed on Wednesday he broke into the tax agency, General Direction of Public Finances, in late June, the ministry said in a statement.
Investigation and Confirmation
• Investigations confirmed the cyberattack, which led to the consulting and extraction of taxpayers' data, the statement said.
Ongoing Probes and Disclosure
• Further probes are ongoing to determine which specific data and the exact number of taxpayers affected, the ministry said, adding further findings will be disclosed.
Notification to Affected Users
• "Users concerned will receive individual information specifying the data that may have been consulted or extracted and, where applicable, the precautionary measures to be adopted," the statement said.
Scope of Data Breach
• The data of 678,000 users was stolen, said the French finance ministry later on Friday.
Reporting Credits
(Reporting by Inti Landauro;Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
