Public Service Minister Stanislas Guerini indicated on Friday that “800 administrative sites” had been targeted during the cyberattack “of unprecedented scale” which began on Sunday and lasted 48 hours, claimed by pro-Russian hackers.
“The French State experienced an attack of unprecedented scale, in intensity, in time, and in an increase in the number of attackers' points,” declared the minister traveling to Rennes at the premises of the Interministerial Network of State (RIE), a digital infrastructure of the State.
“What is unprecedented is 800 administrative points which are attacked at once,” detailed the minister.
On Tuesday, the Paris prosecutor's office's anti-cybercrime section opened an investigation after these computer attacks.
The functioning of the State “not destabilized”
“A remarkable fact in this crisis is that, at no time, did we lose the thread of communication, all administrations, all public agents were well informed in real time and this did not destabilize the State in its operation,” welcomed the minister.
Asked about the origin of these attacks, and the possibility that Anonymous Sudan, a group which supports Russia and several Islamist causes, is at the origin, the minister was “very cautious”.
“A certain number of names were mentioned: I would rather remember Anonymous than Sudan… And, in any case, a bundle of presumption about an almost certain allegiance to the Russophile networks.”
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Hackers had mentioned a “massive cyberattack” targeting in particular the ministries of the Economy, Culture, Ecological Transition, the Prime Minister's services or the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGAC).
Stanislas Guerini was also questioned about the possibility of new computer attacks from Russian networks after Emmanuel Macron's statements Thursday evening on Ukraine, believing in particular that Westerners must be "ready to respond" in the event of an "escalation" Russian in Europe.
“It is obvious, and the links between these cybercrime networks and Russian networks are known and documented and claimed.
I think we should not show any naivety,” said Stanislas Guerini.
“It’s all part of this hybrid war that our countries are already experiencing.
It only illustrates in a certain way the geopolitical situation, what we are experiencing today and what we will probably experience with even greater intensity tomorrow,” he added.