France: Attackers accessed data from 1.2 million bank accounts

The French Ministry of Finance and Economy has admitted that cybercriminals have gained access to a national database containing bank details of citizens. They are said to have obtained information on 1.2 million bank accounts and their holders.

As the French newspaper LeMonde reports, the French Ministry of Finance and Economy announced this Wednesday that attackers had gained "access to a national bank account database" and "retrieved information on 1.2 million accounts." The perpetrators are said to have had access to this database since the end of January using the stolen credentials of a civil servant. In the process, they retrieved "parts of the file of all accounts held at French banks, which contains personal data such as bank account numbers, account holder names, their addresses, and in some cases, the account holder's tax identification number."

No access to bank accounts possible

However, the head of French public finances reassured the French press agency Agence France-Presse (AFP): With the access gained to the database, it is not possible to view account balances or carry out financial transactions. The ministry further stated that "immediate measures were taken to block the attackers and protect against data exfiltration" as soon as the unauthorized access was noticed.

The holders of the 1.2 million affected bank accounts are to receive a notification in the coming days, the ministry added. It has also filed a criminal complaint and informed the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), the French data protection authority, about the incident.

Most recently, the French Football Federation FFF reported a cyberattack in December. This also resulted in data theft, for example of membership directories of the FFF.

(dmk)