Paris (AFP)
The construction subsidiary of the giant Bouygues was still hit Friday by the cyber attack launched the day before, said the group, citing ransomware and reporting that all of its IT was down.
"A ransomware-type viral attack was detected on the Bouygues Construction computer network on January 30," the group said in a press release, after having admitted the day before that it had been targeted by a cyber attack.
"As a precaution, the information systems have been shut down in order to prevent any spread," continued Bouygues Construction, one of the two major branches of the French giant, along with that of telecoms.
The subsidiary, whose site activity is not affected, promised "a return to normal as soon as possible" and a new point early next week.
Since the start of 2019, several companies have had to explain to their shareholders that they had lost tens of millions of euros in turnover due to paralyzing cyber attacks on their business.
Eurofins, a pharmacy, agrifood and environment analysis services group, estimated that it lost 62 million euros in sales in the first half of last year due to a ransomware attack.
The list of victims also includes the Norwegian producer of aluminum Norsk Hydro, the French group of French technology Altran or the French food group Fleury-Michon.
In the case of Bouygues, the hackers claim to have stolen data from the group and "ask for ten million dollars" not to disseminate these documents, Damien Bancal, cybersecurity expert and host of the blog Zataz, told AFP. to have contacted them.
Mr. Bancal said he received "evidence" of the theft of data, including "passport copies", but said he did not open it so as not to break the law.
Questioned by AFP, Bouygues did not wish to confirm or comment on these elements.
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