Pro-Russian DoS cyber attack hits French Post Office during Christmas peak
Despite the reduction in intensity, computer overload complicates parcel tracking and puts a strain on French postal services at the most critical time of the year
The cyberattack claimed by pro-Russian hackers that has been hitting the French postal service since Monday is still underway, but has 'lost in intensity': this is what the La Poste group reports, adding that the tracking of parcels remains 'difficult' but 'without preventing their delivery'. A crucial element, on Christmas Eve, in a country that normally uses its excellent postal services to send gifts to loved ones or acquaintances. Another point of improvement, the activity of the online bank (La Banque Postale) 'has resumed normally', as have the call centres, La Poste points out.
The cyber attack came at the beginning of one of the most sensitive periods for the transalpine postal service. In the last two months of the year, the group handles the distribution of some 180 million consignments in France. The Post Office, which filed a complaint yesterday, guaranteed that no sensitive data had been stolen. This type of cyber attack consists of overloading websites and applications through a bombardment of targeted requests, so that they are no longer accessible to users, ending up in Denial Of Service (DoS) mode.
The Paris public prosecutor's office confirmed yesterday to the France Presse agency that the pro-Russian hacker group NoName057(16), responsible for multiple attacks against Ukraine but also Kiev-allied countries such as France, had claimed sabotage. For Baptiste Robert, a researcher in cyber security, one must nevertheless be cautious of such a 'belated' claim, because 'it is usual to have opportunistic claims', by groups seeking to stir up media hype.
