The personal data of more than half of the French population has been stolen in a cyberattack on two employment agencies.
According to France Travail and Cap Emploi, the exposed data includes first and last names, dates of birth, social security numbers, employment agency identifiers, postal and email addresses and telephone numbers of 43 million people.
Passwords and banking details are not believed to have been affected by the breach, authorities said.
“Personal information relating to job applicants currently registered with France Travail, persons previously registered in the last 20 years, as well as persons not registered on the list of job applicants but who have a candidate space in francetravail .fr, is likely to be illegally disclosed and exploited,” France Travail confirmed in a statement.
Both agencies said they have notified the National Commission for Information Technologies and Liberties (CNIL), the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) and the judicial authorities.
“The security of the data entrusted to us by job seekers and companies is a constant concern for us. In view of the threat of cyber attacks that increasingly affects companies and organizations at national and European level, we must continually strengthen our protective measures, procedures and guidelines,” stated Cap Emploi.
The attack has not yet been claimed nor has the data been leaked. An initial investigation suggests that the attackers are believed to have gained access in early February by posing as an official from the Cap Emploi public administration.
Dr. Ilia Kolochenko, CEO of ImmuniWeb and associate professor of cybersecurity at Capital Technology University, said the timeline of the breach is a point of particular concern, as the intrusion reportedly lasted about a month. .
“The exfiltration of 43 million records is a rather 'noisy' event that normally should have been detected much faster,” Kolochenko said.
“Although other technical details of the data breach are currently unknown, it is perfectly conceivable that the hackers could remain secret throughout the month, compromising and locking other internal systems with more sensitive data.
“Even if the currently disclosed scope of the data breach is ultimately confirmed, already compromised data can, and most likely will, be exploited in phishing, account takeovers, and other cyberattacks against the individuals involved.”
The CNIL warns those affected to remain alert to the possible threat of phishing attacks and has advised people at risk to avoid opening suspicious email attachments or sharing passwords and banking details.
Attackers could, the agency warned, combine data with other data stolen in previous breaches for identity fraud purposes.
French public services have faced a significant escalation of cyber attacks in recent months, authorities have warned. Earlier this week, sources in the French prime minister's office said AFP The country has been subject to attacks of “unprecedented intensity.”
The comments came in the wake of a series of attacks on French government departments that led authorities to activate a “crisis unit” to deal with the incident.
In February, two French healthcare companies were victims of data breaches that affected some 33 million people.
Viamedis and Almerys said the stolen data included marital status, date of birth, social security number, the name of the customer's health insurer and the guarantees of their contract.
