the Paris prosecutor’s office opens an investigation

2024-03-12 15:50:00

French authorities remain on alert against computer attacks that have targeted several ministries and state services since Sunday. An investigation was opened by the anti-cybercrime section of the Paris prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor’s office told AFP on Tuesday March 12.

« This investigation concerns the offense of obstructing an automated data system committed by an organized gang, carrying a penalty of 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 300,000 euros. », Specified the prosecution. The investigation was entrusted to the General Directorate of Internal Security and the C3N (Center for the fight against digital crime of the national gendarmerie).

Matignon indicated Monday that a crisis unit was activated on Sunday evening “ to deploy countermeasures and guarantee the continuity of IT services “. The Prime Minister’s services also clarified on Monday that ” the mobilized teams from DINUM (Interministerial Digital Directorate) and ANSSI (National Agency for Information Systems Security) continue to implement filtering measures until the end of these attacks ».

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Since Sunday evening, several French ministries or administrations have been the subject of computer attacks from a “ unprecedented intensity “, according to the government, assuring Monday to AFP that their impact at this stage ” was reduced » and access to State sites « restored ».

Groups ” deemed pro-Russian »

On the encrypted Telegram messaging service, several groups of hackers have claimed responsibility for these attacks targeting French ministries or administrations. Among them, “Anonymous Sudan” which supports Russia and several Islamist causes. According to the specialized site Numeramathe concrete motivations of Anonymous Sudan “ are not clear “. But this group, which communicates in Arabic and Russian, is “ appeared in the cyber landscape by targeting enemies designated by Moscow ».

These hackers claim to have carried out a “massive cyberattack”, targeting the Prime Minister’s services, the ministries of the Economy, Ecological Transition, Health or Culture, as well as a long series of websites, of the Council of State until Heritage Days.

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Anonymous Sudan’s claim is “ credible “, a source close to the matter told AFP on Monday, with another security source urging caution. The groups that claimed responsibility for the attack are “ deemed pro-Russian », added the source close to the investigation. Among these groups, there is “undoubtedly a demand for opportunity,” she continued.

The method of “ denied service »

The attacks were carried out by “ denied service » (DDoS), a method of bringing down a service by overwhelming it with requests. According to the site cybermalveillance.gouv.frthis type of attack results in rendering the service unusable, which can result in loss of income, productivity or credibility for the site owner.

Last October, several websites of Spanish public institutions suffered the same type of cyberattacks, during the informal summit of the European Council in Granada. This wave of cyberattacks aimed “ to make affected resources and services inaccessible to users ”, according to the National Cybersecurity Institute of Spain (INCIBE).

(With AFP)