The French Prime Minister's Office formed a "crisis cell to take countermeasures" and confirmed that several government departments had been exposed to information attacks whose technical methods were classic but whose pace was unprecedented (Al Jazeera)

Several French government institutions have been subjected to electronic attacks since Sunday with “unprecedented intensity,” as the French news agency learned yesterday, Monday, from the government, and many hackers, especially pro-Russians, have claimed responsibility for them.

Hacking groups claimed responsibility for these attacks on Telegram.

Among them is the "Anonymous Sudan" group, which supports Russia and many Islamic causes.

The hackers announced a "large-scale electronic attack" targeting, in particular, the ministries of economy, culture, environmental transformation, the Prime Minister's Office, or the General Directorate of Civil Aviation.

But a security source said that these attacks "are not attributed to the Russians at this stage."

However, a source close to the file told Agence France-Presse that the Anonymous Sudan group’s claim of responsibility was “credible,” while another security source called for caution.

The Prime Minister's Office, which formed a "crisis cell to take countermeasures," said, "Since yesterday evening, several government departments have been subjected to information attacks whose technical methods are classic, but whose pace is unprecedented."

Many ministerial services such as the Ministry of Labor were affected by these attacks.

The Prime Minister's Office confirmed that "at this stage, the impact of these attacks on most services has decreased and it has become possible to access state websites."

Secretary-General of Defense and National Security Stephane Bouillon warned on Wednesday that the European elections scheduled for June 9, before the Olympic Games in Paris this summer, would represent a “major challenge and target” for manipulation by foreign parties.

On March 29, the Prime Minister's General Secretariat for Defense and National Security is organizing a meeting of all French political party candidates for the European elections with the aim of "raising awareness of so-called hybrid threats" and confronting the risks of "cyber-attacks, information manipulation and foreign interference."

For his part, French Minister of the Armed Forces, Sebastien Le Cornu, on February 20, called for strengthening security measures in the face of Russian “sabotage and cyberattack” threats targeting his ministry “primarily,” according to an internal memorandum seen by Agence France-Presse.

Source: French