France’s General Directorate of Public Finances (DGFiP) — the country’s primary tax authority — has confirmed that hackers breached its systems in late June and extracted data on individuals and businesses. France’s Economy Ministry said the attacker gained unauthorized access after stealing or misusing someone else’s identity, then used that foothold to view and extract records. The intrusion was detected and cut off in late June, but only became public this week after a hacker using the alias ZeroBytes claimed responsibility and posted the stolen data.
ZeroBytes claims to have accessed internal DGFiP servers and connected through the agency’s VPN using an internal search tool, extracting data before access was revoked. The claimed haul — which has not yet been independently verified — includes records on over 600,000 people: names and other personal information, tax identification numbers (numéros fiscaux), email addresses, family circumstances, and details about their tax status. The DGFiP says it has imposed additional restrictions to prevent further access, will notify France’s data protection authority (CNIL), and will contact affected individuals directly to explain what data may have been exposed and what precautions they should take. A criminal complaint has also been filed.