Hackers breached the databases of one of France's ministries
Another major data leak has reportedly occurred in France, where hackers claimed to have breached the database of the Zero Logement Vacant website, which is administered by the republic's ministry of urban planning and housing.
As 1news.az reports, this was announced by the AFP agency.
The database includes information about vacant residential properties and helps local authorities return them to the real estate market.
Responsibility for the hack was claimed by the hacker group ZeroBytes, which has previously been mentioned in the media in the context of the breach of the French tax service's database. The hackers claim they gained access to nearly 149 million raw records on the platform, which contain information about property owners and account data. However, the agency notes that these records may contain duplicate data, so it is difficult to say how many individuals or organizations may have had their information fall into the hands of the attackers.
Earlier, the director general of France's Directorate General of Public Finances (DGFiP), Amélie Verdier, stated that three major leaks from state databases occurred in August. Thus, on August 12, hackers gained access to the data of 350,000 people, in particular their correspondence with the tax service. On August 13, a breach of the cadastral service's database was detected, during which information on 433,500 individuals and 1,000 legal entities was stolen. On August 17, it became known that hackers had gained access to a database on inheritance law cases.
According to media reports, the hacker group ZeroBytes is behind the breaches of the tax service's databases. It is presumed to include two French nationals, who, however, claim they are not operating from French territory. They told the AFP agency that they sold the stolen data "for several thousand euros" to two people, and added that they continue to trade in it. The hackers explained their motives as a desire to make money, asserting that there is no political subtext to their actions.
In addition to the tax service, they also claimed responsibility for breaching the database of France's Ministry of Education. On July 31, the agency reported a leak of personal data of a large number of employees who had worked at the ministry since 2001. On August 18, the hackers published a message on X stating that "several weeks ago" they had obtained 346 million rows of data, while the security services had allegedly been unable to completely cut off their access to the ministry's information systems.
