France's national postal service, La Poste, has been hit by a suspected cyber-attack, disrupting deliveries and online services at the busiest time of the year. The distributed denial of service (DDoS) incident, reported on Monday, three days before Christmas, rendered websites, apps, and the group's banking service inaccessible. While customer data remains safe, mail distribution, including parcels, has been slowed.
French media reported that customers attempting to send last-minute parcels or collect items from post offices were being turned away. La Poste sorts and delivers over 2 million items in the immediate run-up to Christmas. The banking arm, La Banque Postale, stated on social media that the incident was affecting access to online banking and the mobile app, though card payments at point-of-sale terminals and ATMs were still functioning. Online payments remained possible but required authentication via text message.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. This incident follows a recent cyber-attack on the French government that disrupted the interior ministry. A 22-year-old suspect was detained in connection with that breach, which interior minister Laurent Nuñez said involved the extraction of several dozen sensitive files and access to police records. Anonymous hackers claimed to have accessed nearly 70 million confidential data records from police files, affecting 16.4 million French citizens.
Private companies, including mobile operator SFR and DIY chain Leroy Merlin, have also been targeted in recent weeks. Additionally, prosecutors revealed that France's counterespionage agency is investigating a suspected cyber-attack plot involving software to remotely control computer systems of an international passenger ferry. A Latvian crew member is in custody, accused of acting for an unidentified foreign power. France and other European allies of Ukraine allege that Russia is waging 'hybrid warfare', including cyber-attacks.
