Information security in France

2024: Gossites shut down in France due to "unprecedented" hacker attack

On March 11 France , 2024, it became known that public services were subjected to a cyber attack of "unprecedented power." As a result of the hacker invasion, state sites turned off, and the government was forced to use the "crisis unit" to counter cybercriminals.

According to the office of Prime Minister Gabriel Attal, several government agencies were attacked at once. The attack was so intense that access to a number of services was impossible. Various services, including France's National Cyber Security Agency (ANSSI), have been brought in to investigate the incident.

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According to reports, the Anonymous Sudan cyber group claimed responsibility for the attack. Attackers in 2023 held a number of sensational actions in countries such as Sweden, Denmark and Israel. In the event of an invasion of France's IT infrastructure, the DDoS technique was used.

We carried out a massive cyber attack. The damage will be large-scale, - the criminal group said in its Telegram channel.

The French government is taking measures to improve the protection of its information infrastructure, which has been facing numerous ransomware attacks since 2021. In particular, in 2023, companies from the field of health insurance were attacked, as a result of which the personal data of more than 33 million people in the country were stolen.

Problems with access to French government resources in March 2024 are observed against the background of preparations for the Olympic Games and elections to the European Parliament. In 2023, the websites of the Senate and the French National Assembly were subjected to cyber attacks. The country's authorities intend to improve their IT security systems in cyberspace.^[1]

2019: France strikes cybersecurity pact with country's biggest companies

On November 14, 2019, the French government signed a three-year pact with eight cyber security leading companies in the country. The initiative came at a time when the world's largest countries are strengthening security measures amid high-profile incidents.

According to Reuters the agency, citing a statement from the authorities, France an agreement was concluded with companies,,, Airbus, Dassault Aviation Thales Safran Ariane Group, MBDA, Naval Group and Nexter. Financial and other details of that deal have not been disclosed.

French government signs three-year cybersecurity pact with eight top companies in the country

A year before the signing of this cybersecurity act, Emmanuel Macron presented the "Paris Call for Trust and Security in Cyberspace" - a declaration of the rules of conduct of states and private players in cyberspace. The ideological core of the document is nine areas of action: from preventing attacks on critical infrastructure to countering the spread of malicious software.

One of the topics is the prevention of cyber interference in the IT infrastructure that ensures the conduct of elections.

The French authorities have long been seriously concerned about modern challenges in the field of cybersecurity and in 2019 decided to allocate €1.6 billion to combat unauthorized interventions in cyberspace.

A special cybersecurity department was created. In it, as well as in the Main Directorate of External Security (DGSE) and the General Directorate of Weapons (DGA), an additional thousand cyber-military personnel are planned to attract a thousand military cyber specialists until 2025.

Emmanuel Macron proposed creating an army independent of the United States that would also protect cyberspace. Trump called the French leader's proposal "very offensive," noting that "Europe must first pay its fair share in NATO."^[2]

2018: Police officer who sold sensitive data to hackers arrested

In early October 2018, a French policeman was arrested for selling confidential data on a dark web market in exchange for bitcoins.

The employee worked for the Directorate General of Homeland Security - a French intelligence agency that deals with counter-espionage, counter-terrorism and cybercrime, and oversees potentially dangerous groups, organizations and social events.

In early October 2018, a French policeman was arrested for selling confidential data on a dark web market in exchange for bitcoins

French authorities have not announced the name of the arrested police officer, but said he worked under the alias Haurus in a dark web market known as Black Hand. The police officer is accused of selling confidential information, which fell shortly before the arrest into the hands of cyber criminals. Investigators believe the criminals to whom Haurus sold the confidential files used them to create forged documents.

French authorities also say the arrested police officer touted mobile device location tracking services based on the phone number provided - he offered them as an option to spy on an unfaithful spouse or members of rival criminal gangs. Investigators believe Haurus used police service resources designed to track criminals. In addition, Haurus offered to inform customers for a limited fee whether the French police were monitoring them and what dirt had already been collected on them.

Representatives of the French police say they revealed the real identity of Haurus after they seized and closed the Black Hand portal on June 12, 2018. They also managed to track down some of the sensitive documents for sale in the dark market, based on individual code that was added to official documents and helped track the history of their use.^[3]

2016: France creates a 2,600-strong cyber war

The special unit cyber security on Cybercom as part of the armed forces France will begin work on January 1, 2017. Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said in December 2016 that cyberwar would also perform an offensive function.

The Cybercom unit was created in the French Army and will begin service on January 1, 2017. By 2019, the number of cyber soldiers will be 2,600. According to the country's defense minister, the unit "should allow the enemy seeking to harm the country's security and defense interests to act or fight back."

For comparison, similar units in other countries declare protection first. According to Le Drian, with the advent of new spaces in which cyber attacks are taking place, it is necessary to rethink the tactics of military affairs. The minister stressed: "Our offensive cyber capabilities should allow us to invade the systems and networks of our opponents in order to damage them, block their services and temporarily or finally neutralize them, based on the opening of hostilities against us. Using sophisticated means, of which we are sometimes the developers, that must be protected from any risk of misappropriation. "

The creation of a cyber army for 5 years was announced back in 2014 and was one of the state priorities of France. 1 billion euros were allocated for the formation of Cybercom, of which 500 million were planned for industrial and technological investments^[4] will^[5].

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