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Personal data belonging to foreign nationals residing in France was posted online on Thursday, January 1, by a hacker claiming the attack was for profit. Writing in a specialist discussion forum, the individual said the information was obtained by hacking the French Office for Immigration and Integration (OFII).
The hacker released two samples. The first contains the details of fewer than 1,000 foreign nationals, from countries including Ukraine, Cameroon, Afghanistan, and China. The other concerns 600 Israelis currently or previously residing in France. Each file sample includes names, first names, date of entry into France, the reasons and type of stay (employment, family, refugee status, etc.), as well as email addresses and phone numbers.
Contacted by Le Monde, the OFII confirmed a data theft but explained that the information came from a subcontractor of the organization. "This is an intrusion that is not directly linked to OFII's information system," Director General Didier Leschi said. The stolen information concerns immigrants who have participated in a so-called contrat d'intégration républicaine (CIR, "republican integration contract"), a government-mandated program for those seeking to stay long-term in France. The contract includes citizenship and language courses.
A third-party operator
According to Leschi, a third-party "operator" with access to OFII data as part of the CIR was used to extract personal information, although it is not yet clear whether this subcontractor was hacked or was 'complicit' in hacking. "We will be filing a complaint and sanctioning the operator involved, as well as tightening security requirements," Leschi added.
For now, the data does not appear to have been sold, but uncertainty remains over the exact number of people affected by the breach. The hacker claims to have obtained a file with 2 million entries, meaning potentially 2 million people, but claims made on forums specializing in the sale of stolen data should always be treated with caution.
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