A crisis unit was activated on Sunday evening to “deploy countermeasures”, the French government told AFP yesterday Monday.
Several digital services of the French State have been targeted since Sunday by computer attacks of “unprecedented intensity”. Attacks which affect “many ministerial services” according to the authorities.
They specify that while disruptions are still ongoing, the impact of the attacks “has been reduced” and access to state sites “restored”.
Many ministerial services affected
It appears that these attacks are of the DDOS (distributed denial of service) type. DDoS attacks are one of the crudest forms of cyberattacks, but they are also one of the most powerful and can be difficult to stop.
As for the alleged attackers, different groups of hackers have claimed responsibility for these attacks on Telegram messaging. Among them is Anonymous Sudan, a group that supports Russia, among other things.
These hackers speak of a “massive cyberattack” which targeted, among others, the ministries of Economy, Culture, Ecological Transition, the Prime Minister’s services and even the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC).
DINUM and ANSSI at work
The French government specifies that the teams of DINUM (interministerial digital department) and ANSSI (national information systems security agency) are implementing filtering measures to mitigate these attacks.
This wave of attacks comes a few months before the Paris Olympic Games which will take place this summer, and a few days before the European elections on June 9.
Last February, a series of DDoS attacks disrupted the websites and applications of La Poste and Credit Agricole. Attacks claimed by a group of Turkish hacktivists, known as the Turk Hack Team.