Several French government institutions have been subjected to electronic attacks since Sunday with an “unprecedented intensity,” as reported by the French news agency yesterday, Monday, citing government sources. Many hackers, particularly those supportive of Russia, have claimed responsibility for them.
Hacker groups have declared their responsibility for these attacks on Telegram, including the “Anonymous Sudan” group, which supports Russia and many Islamic issues.
The hackers announced a “broad-scale electronic attack,” targeting primarily the Ministries of Economy, Culture, Environmental Transition, and the Prime Minister’s Office or the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.
However, a security source stated that these attacks “are not attributed to the Russians at this stage.” Nevertheless, a source close to the matter informed the French news agency that the announcement of responsibility by the Anonymous Sudan group “is credible,” while another security source cautioned to be vigilant.
The Prime Minister’s office, which formed a “crisis cell to take countermeasures,” stated that “since yesterday evening, several government entities have been subjected to cyberattacks using classic technical methods but with unprecedented intensity.” Many ministerial services such as the Ministry of Labor have been affected by these attacks.
The Prime Minister’s office affirmed that “at this stage, the impact of these attacks on most services has diminished, and it is now possible to access state websites.”
On Wednesday, Secretary-General of Defense and National Security, Stéphane Bouillon, warned that the upcoming European elections scheduled for June 9th, before the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, will pose a “major challenge and target” for manipulation by foreign entities.
The General Secretariat for Defense and National Security, under the Prime Minister, is organizing a meeting on March 29th for all political party candidates in the European elections with the aim of “raising awareness of so-called hybrid threats” and countering the risks of “cyberattacks, information manipulation, and foreign interference.”
Meanwhile, French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu called for enhancing security measures against “Russian sabotage and electronic attacks” targeting his ministry “primarily,” according to an internal memo seen by the French news agency, dated February 20th.
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