Explained: Are you affected by the cyberattack on French tax office
Hackers have stolen the details of at least 1 million people in a massive cyberattack on the French tax office and land registry - here's how to check whether you are affected and what to do about it.
A massive cyberattack on France's tax office and land registry has stolen the details of at least 1 million individuals, as revealed by the General Direction of Public Finance (DGFiP) on Friday. Two separate hacks occurred in June and July, with the first stealing the personal information of 678,000 people from the tax office system, and the second compromising 200,000 accounts on the land registry.
The attacks, claimed by the hacking group Zerobytes, exposed sensitive data such as full names, tax account details, household income, and tax rates for individuals, and business registration numbers, addresses, and responsible individuals for businesses. Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu will convene an emergency meeting on Monday to address the issue.
The tax hack could affect anyone with an account on the French tax website gouv.fr, which includes both individuals and businesses. The stolen details could be used for further phishing attacks, such as emails impersonating the tax office and providing personal tax information. It is advised to regularly monitor tax accounts for any unauthorized changes and check bank accounts for suspicious transactions.
The French government is expected to provide more information in the coming days about the extent of the data breach and recommend precautions to affected individuals.
Written by urgent.news from The Local France's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
