In order to gather intelligence and sow discord in the nation, France reportedly accused Russian military intelligence of planning over ten years’ worth of cyberattacks targeting French ministries, defense contractors, and media outlets.
The French cybersecurity agency said Tuesday that since 2021, a gang of Russian hackers known to Western security experts as APT28 has carried out over a dozen attacks in France against French government agencies, think tanks, and a sports organization participating in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
The outfit, which goes by several aliases, including Fancy Bear and Pawn Storm, was directly associated with Russia’s military intelligence agency, the GRU, by France’s Foreign Ministry, which also accused the Kremlin of being behind the attacks.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Kremlin.
At a time when French President Emmanuel Macron has stated that he wants to put more pressure on the Kremlin to agree to a cease-fire in Ukraine, the French claim exacerbates tensions with Russia.
The sporting organization that Russian military hackers targeted last summer was not disclosed by French officials on Tuesday; nevertheless, at the time, cybersecurity officials said that there had been about two dozen attacks into Olympic-related institutions.
For instance, a ransomware assault in August affected a number of venues, including the Grand Palais, a venue for events.
Russia was also charged by France on Tuesday with orchestrating hacking against Macron’s 2017 presidential campaign, which resulted in the anonymous posting of thousands of emails and other documents online.
The hack seemed to originate from APT28, according to a security firm at the time. Russia denies any involvement.
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