French Finance Ministry Confirms Taxpayer Data Breach

The French Finance Ministry has confirmed that in a June cyberattack on the country’s tax authority, a malicious actor stole data belonging to French individual and business taxpayers.

The attack targeted the General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP), which manages France’s tax system. The ministry said a malicious actor accessed its systems and extracted taxpayer data. An investigation is underway to determine exactly what information was taken and how many people and businesses were affected.

The ministry hasn’t yet confirmed the figure circulating in reports that 678 000 taxpayers' data was stolen. It said affected taxpayers will be contacted individually, told what data may have been exposed, and advised on precautions to take.

French authorities have restricted access to the affected systems and are investigating the breach with support from the country’s national cybersecurity agency. The Finance Ministry is also expected to file a criminal complaint and notify France’s data protection regulator, the CNIL.

Another breach involving the DGFiP occurred earlier this year, when an attacker gained unauthorized access to FICOBA, France’s national database of bank accounts containing various personal information.