The French prime minister's office announced on Monday that several government agencies have been hit by intense cyberattacks, described as being of "unprecedented intensity." The nature of the attacks, which began on Sunday night, has not been officially confirmed, but the description provided is consistent with distributed-denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
DDoS attacks are known for their ability to flood servers with junk requests, thereby preventing legitimate users from accessing network resources. While these attacks do not directly lead to the theft of information, they can significantly disrupt services.
The French government acknowledged that the attack utilized familiar technical means but emphasized its unprecedented intensity. DDoS incidents have often been linked to state-sponsored groups, especially in the context of geopolitical tensions such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. However, the French government has not attributed this particular attack to any specific entity or group.
The attacks targeted various ministerial services, although it remains unclear if they were limited to public-facing websites. In response to the cyber onslaught, the prime minister's office stated that a "crisis cell has been activated to deploy countermeasures," and that efforts have been made to reduce the impact of the attacks, with access to state websites largely restored.
Ken Westin, Field CISO at Panther Labs, cautioned that French companies and government agencies should remain vigilant, stating, "French companies and government agencies should be vigilant, although DDoS attacks themselves may pose limited risk, they’re also often a smokescreen for more sophisticated attacks where intrusion into networks occurs. The DDoS activities can reveal vulnerabilities, as well as an organization’s counter measures, and distract defenders from a more serious threat."
This incident serves as a reminder of the ongoing cybersecurity challenges faced by government agencies worldwide and the importance of maintaining robust defenses against a variety of cyber threats.