Was the French Army’s X account hacked? Nay, despite these mysterious messages composed of numbers and letters published since the beginning of the week. This is a large-scale test.
An exercise led by the French Army
TOKAmUFybcOpZSBkZSBUZXJyZ SBz4oCZZW50cmHDrm5lIGF1IG NvbWJhdCBjeWJlci4=@ComcyberFR
— Army (@armeedeterre) March 18, 2024
The exercise, called Defnet, consists of messages written in base64 code which can be decrypted via this platform, as explained by our colleagues at BFMTV. Monday March 18, 2024, one of the publications posted on X was: “The French Armies are training for cyber combat”.
Defnet has taken place every year since 2014, and the French Army invites Internet users to participate on X. The exercise simulates computer attacks such as intrusion attempts or the siphoning of private data during 30 simultaneous incidents. 15,000 people (public and private) are mobilized at this very moment.
The National Information Systems Security Agency and the Ministry of the Interior are participating in the operation.
France hit by large-scale attacks
Recent weeks have been punctuated by large-scale attacks in France. For example, on March 10 and 11, several French government services were knocked out of service by a cyberattack by a “unprecedented intensity”.