France's DGFiP confirms theft of 678,000 taxpayer records after hacker claims 2 million records
This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.
France's tax authority DGFiP confirmed Friday that taxpayer data was stolen in a cyberattack affecting 678,000 individuals and professionals after a hacker claimed to have obtained about 2 million records. The authority said user accounts, IDs and passwords were not compromised, and affected people will be contacted directly.
Key Facts
- France's DGFiP confirmed a hacker stole taxpayer data from 678,000 individuals and professionals.
- A hacker under alias ZeroBytes claimed to have obtained more than 2 million records and still had access to DGFiP systems.
- The stolen data included reference tax income, family quotient, withholding tax rate, company names, SIREN numbers, and cadastral data on addresses and property sizes.
- DGFiP said user accounts, IDs, and passwords were not compromised, and all unauthorized access to accounts used in the incidents was suspended upon detection.
- The breach follows a separate February incident involving 1.2 million bank accounts that raised concerns over government data security.
DGFiP Breach Confirmation
France's Direction Générale des Finances Publiques (DGFiP) confirmed on Friday that a hacker stole taxpayer records after claiming to have obtained about 2 million records. The attacker, using the alias ZeroBytes, posted a listing for the purportedly stolen database on Wednesday, claiming it contained information on more than 2 million French taxpayers. The malicious actor said they gained access through stolen login credentials belonging to a DGFiP employee and an authorized third party, as well as an MFA bypass. DGFiP said that upon detecting the intrusions it immediately suspended access to all accounts used in the identified incidents, but access controls carried out at that time did not reveal data theft due to the sophistication of the attack.
Stolen Data Scope
The intrusion led to the theft of data belonging to 678,000 individuals and professionals, including approximately 393,000 individuals and 286,000 professionals according to monitoring platform FrenchBreaches. The accessed details included tax data such as reference tax income, family quotient and withholding tax rate, as well as company names and SIREN numbers for businesses. Cadastral data relating to addresses and property sizes were also accessed. DGFiP said user accounts, IDs, and passwords were not compromised. Further investigations are ongoing to determine the exact nature and volume of the stolen data.
Security Context
DGFiP added that following new information revealed by ongoing investigations, additional security measures were immediately implemented, including preventative shutdowns of access to sensitive information systems. The incident follows a separate February breach involving 1.2 million bank accounts that raised concerns over government data security. The hacker under alias ZeroBytes also claimed they still had access to DGFiP's systems and offered to sell that access.
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France's DGFiP confirms theft of 678,000 taxpayer records after hacker claims 2 million records
