France: Public Prosecutor’s Office launches investigation following cyberattack on tax authorities: 700,000 users affected
The cyberattack, as the Ministry of Finance stated in a press release, allowed access to the data of “citizens” and “professionals”
The cybercrime unit of the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched an investigation following the cyberattack that affected nearly 700,000 users of the French tax authorities. This was confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office, when questioned by AFP. The investigation, entrusted to the Office for the Fight against Cybercrime (OFAC), focuses in particular on “the fraudulent extraction of data contained in an automated personal data processing system managed by the State”.
The cyberattack, as announced on 13 August by the French Ministry of Finance in a statement, allowed access to the data of “citizens” and “professionals”. “A malicious actor,” the statement reads, “claimed to have gained unauthorised access to the IT system of the Directorate-General for Public Finances (Dgfip) at the end of June 2026 following an identity theft”. Preliminary investigations “confirm that the access, which was blocked at the end of June as part of an audit, nevertheless allowed data relating to private citizens and professional users to be viewed and extracted”.
The Dgfip “has immediately implemented new restrictions to block unauthorised access and prevent further incidents. In-depth investigations are currently underway to determine precisely which data” has been compromised and “the number of users affected”. Affected users “will receive an individual notification, specifying the data that may have been accessed or extracted and, where necessary, the precautions to be taken”. The French Dgfip “will report the incident to the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL), file a complaint and provide further updates as the investigation progresses”.
