France launches REACTIV cyber unit for ministries
France has created a dedicated cyber incident response capability for government departments, strengthening the powers of the national cybersecurity agency after a major attack exposed weaknesses in the tax administration’s systems. The new mechanism, called REACTIV — short for Réponse & Action Interministérielle face aux Violations de données — was announced by the National Agency for the…
France has established a specialized cyber incident response unit, named REACTIV, to bolster government departments' cybersecurity capabilities. This new mechanism, announced by the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI), was prompted by a major attack on France's tax administration in August that exposed weaknesses in the system.
Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu directed enhanced support for ministries facing data breaches and compromised accounts. REACTIV allows ANSSI to quickly mobilize technical expertise and operational resources alongside affected ministries, enabling faster containment of attacks, limiting data exfiltration, and implementing urgent protective measures.
ANSSI will also centralize technical crisis communications during attacks targeting state services. The move follows heightened scrutiny of government cyber defenses after the tax authority breach, which involved the misuse of compromised credentials and exposed personal and fiscal information of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers.
The government has since introduced a roadmap with 40 priority actions across 10 areas aimed at raising the security level of ministerial networks. REACTIV builds upon the existing CERT-FR, ANSSI's national and governmental computer security incident response team, which now has greater authority during fast-moving breaches affecting government data.
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