The French government accused a hacker collective associated with Russian military intelligence of carrying out cyberattacks against French government agencies, businesses, and the Paris Olympics during a three-year period.
The 2024 Paris Olympics saw a massive spike in cyberattacks, mirroring the event’s global visibility as well as increased geopolitical tensions engulfing it. In spite of thorough preparations, authorities were struck by a myriad of cyber attacks, but still succeeded in maintaining major disruptions.
France’s cybersecurity agency, ANSSI, published a study on Tuesday that detailed cyber events that occurred between 2021 and 2024 and that it attributes to a group known as APT28, or Fancy Bear. According to the study, the hacking was done with the intention of gathering intelligence, particularly about Russia’s conflict in Ukraine. The government of France, one of Ukraine’s most outspoken supporters, is trying to make sure that a future peace agreement mediated by the US doesn’t give Russia more leverage and jeopardize the security of Europe.
According to the French Foreign Ministry, the attack targeted French organizations, notably a sports group involved in the preparation of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris, and was connected to the Russian military intelligence agency GRU. Neither the organization’s identity nor the extent of the cyber-meddling were mentioned.
According to the cybersecurity agency, there were more targets in the fields of banking, aerospace, national government departments, and municipal governments. They weren’t named. In 2023 and 2024, over a dozen investigations indicated that Russia was stepping up its efforts to discredit France, especially during the Paris Olympics, through misinformation operations. Due to state-sponsored doping and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russian athletes’ ability to compete in the Olympics has been restricted for years.
The Kremlin and the Russian Embassy in France have denied any involvement in the Olympics in Paris.
John Holquist, principal analyst at Google Threat Intelligence Group, responded to the French news Monday by stating in a statement that “the GRU’s targeting of the Games was highly expected… Malicious intelligence activities continue to target the games despite its powerful symbolism of international collaboration.
Additionally connected to international cyber breaches, APT28 and the GRU were suspected of helping Donald Trump by exposing Democratic Party emails during the 2016 US election.
The 2021–2024 hacks were attributed to a particular GRU unit, Unit 20728, by the French Foreign Ministry. Unidentified assaults on organizations in Ukraine, other parts of Europe, and North America are also mentioned in the cybersecurity agency study.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying,
“These destabilizing actions are unacceptable and unworthy of a permanent member of the UN Security Council.” “France is committed to utilizing all available tools to prevent, deter, and respond to Russia’s malevolent actions in cyberspace, in tandem with its allies.”
