Cyberattack against the French tax administration: an investigation opened for nearly 700,000 users affected

The cyber section of the Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation after the cyberattack affecting nearly 700,000 users of the tax administration, the public prosecutor said on Saturday, requested by AFP. The investigations, entrusted to the Anti-Cybercrime Office (Ofac), concern in particular “the fraudulent extraction of data contained in an automated personal data processing system implemented by the State”. The investigation also includes, among other things, “participation in a criminal association with a view to preparing an offense punishable by at least five years of imprisonment”.

This cyberattack against the tax information system made it possible to extract data from taxpayers and companies during a “more sophisticated” operation than “in the past,” lamented the tax administration on Friday. This new large-scale computer attack could relaunch the debate on the security of State information systems, while previous episodes have punctuated the news in recent weeks (ANTS, Insee, etc.).

678,000 individuals and businesses

In total, 678,000 users, individuals and businesses are affected. For individuals, the stolen data concerns in particular first and last names, the family quotient, the reference tax income and the withholding tax rate, detailed the general director of public finances Amélie Verdier.

The stolen data “does not allow access to the secure account on impots.gouv.fr” however wanted to reassure the tax authorities, specifying that the users concerned would be contacted at the beginning of next week, in particular to warn them of the risks of identity theft. For companies, this is “data less sensitive than individuals”, in particular the Siren number, the address of the company, of the agent, further detailed Amélie Verdier.

Matignon confirmed on Saturday evening that “users affected by the incident” would be “contacted from Monday”, in particular to warn them of the risks of identity theft. The Minister of Public Accounts, David Amiel, also asked the administration to make proposals in order to learn the lessons of this unprecedented attack.