Not long after French President Emmanuel Macron called for NATO troops to be deployed to Ukraine, France suffered a series of “cyber attacks” of ‘unprecedented intensity.’
The information security agency ANSSI was among the specialist services that implemented filtering measures to counter the attack, France24 reported.
Later, several hacker groups claimed responsibility for the attacks on the messaging app Telegram.
One group, Anonymous Sudan, said it launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) on the government network infrastructure in France.
“We have conducted a massive cyberattack… the damage will be widespread,” said the group.
Reuters reported:
BFM TV reported that several government departments have been the target of computer attacks since Sunday. It quoted a government source as saying that, at this stage, there is no indication of a Russian attack.
Le Monde reported:
“Several French state bodies have been hit with cyberattacks of ‘unprecedented intensity’, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s office said Monday, March 11, while insisting the government had been able to contain the impact. ‘Many ministerial services were targeted’ from Sunday ‘using familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity,’ Attal’s office said, without providing further details of the targets.”
According to sources speaking with AP, the attacks were not immediately attributable to Russi.
“The PM’s staff added that a ‘crisis cell has been activated to deploy countermeasures,’ meaning ‘the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to state websites restored.’ Specialist services, including information security agency ANSSI were ‘implementing filtering measures until the attacks are over.'”
Associated Press reported:
“A group of hackers called Anonymous Sudan, which is considered by cybersecurity experts as pro-Russia, claimed responsibility for the attacks in online posts. The French prime minister’s office and digital safety agency wouldn’t comment on the claim, or provide details of what was targeted or what damage might have been caused.”
Last month, Macron refused to rule out the prospect of sending Western troops to Ukraine.
Sweeping aside criticism, the French President insisted his statements on Russian aggression were carefully thought out.
“These are sufficiently serious issues; every one of the words that I say on this issue is weighed, thought through, and measured,” Macron told reporters.
READ: Macron Breaks Silence on Rumors His Wife Is Transgender
