The Banque de France recognizes an intrusion but denies a data leak

This weekend, a group of hackers claimed responsibility for the theft of numerous sensitive data belonging to the Banque de France. In a message published on the hacking forum BreachForums, the Near2tlg cybercriminals claim to have employee files, containing their identity, the amount of their income and the title of their functions. But also “sensitive customer information”such as bank account data and transaction history. The file would also include “confidential internal documents”such as financial reports and sensitive exchanges.

Cybercriminals put the data supposedly belonging to the Banque de France on sale for $10,000, payable in cryptocurrencies. They published a small sample, including internal and administrative documents. Asked by West Francethe central bank assured that there was no attack on its “secure information system”and that personal data had not been compromised. However, the institution admits having noted a “occasional exterior access” on an extranet dedicated to human resources. The site in question has since been closed by the Banque de France.

It therefore remains difficult, for the moment, to know the extent of this data theft. The sample of documents already published by the hacker group is also not particularly sensitive. Additionally, the price of the entire data set went from $50,000 to $10,000 quite quickly, without much explanation. The hacker group Near2tlg recently claimed responsibility for large-scale cyberattacks, notably against Direct Assurance and SFR, and more recently against the Mediboard software, which according to it led to the leak of the medical files of 750,000 French people.