Senate memo reveals methods of cyberattacks against tax authorities

Attack via forgotten connection channels, stolen agent identifiers, faulty controls… A memo sent on Friday September 4 to members of the Senate Finance Committee reveals the methods used during the various tax hacks over the summer. Written by senators Claude Raynal (PS) and Jean-François Husson (LR), respectively president and general rapporteur of the said commission, the note is based in particular on the hearing of the president of the DGFIP, Agnès Verdier, and information requested from the ministers concerned.

The main attack, during which the personal data of 350,000 individuals and 250,000 professionals were stolen, took place in two stages, first from June 23 to 25, then again from July 21 to 23. It started with the theft of identifiers... from a National Education agent. They could be used to connect to the State interministerial network (RIE), “which connects the computer networks of the different administrations”.