French authorities have confirmed that hackers stole tax-related information belonging to more than 600,000 individuals and companies following two separate attacks on the country’s tax administration systems.
The Directorate General of Public Finance (DGFiP) said the breaches occurred in June and July, with a hacking group previously claiming responsibility for the attacks.
The first incident, reported in June, resulted in the theft of information linked to at least 678,000 individuals and professional accounts. The compromised data included names, reference taxable income and applicable tax rates.
A second breach in July involved information from about 200,000 land registration accounts, according to French authorities.
The hacking group, known as Zerobytes, has claimed it obtained data involving 250,000 land registration accounts, potentially covering around two million property and land owners. The group allegedly offered details of the theft through a dark web forum.
Cybersecurity specialists have described France as one of the countries frequently targeted by cybercriminals, with government agencies repeatedly facing attempts to breach their systems.
Zerobytes has also been linked to previous attacks against French government computer systems and claimed to have gained access through a virtual private network (VPN) used by tax officials.
The latest incidents add to a series of major cyberattacks targeting French public institutions. In April, France Titres, which handles identity document applications and vehicle registrations, was targeted in a large-scale attack affecting data belonging to almost 12 million individuals and professionals.
In February, the Finance Ministry also revealed that a major intrusion into its computer systems had resulted in the theft of information linked to 1.2 million bank accounts, underscoring the growing cybersecurity challenges facing French authorities.
