France Travail Targeted in Data Breach Affecting Hundreds of Thousands
France Travail, the French employment agency, has announced that it was the target of a “malicious action” that resulted in the unauthorized access of personal data belonging to several hundred thousand job seekers. The agency confirmed the incident, following initial reports from the tech news site Next.
The alert was raised on July 12th by CERT-FR, the organization responsible for monitoring security vulnerabilities and incidents, which operates under the authority of the National Agency for Information Systems Security (Anssi). The attack reportedly targeted Kairos, a service for managing training requests for job seekers, which is currently unavailable. “The account of a training organization based in Isère was identified as the source of this abnormal activity. This account was compromised by an ‘infostealer’,” a type of software designed to steal passwords, France Travail explained.
The personal data “of 340,000 job seekers were accessed and are therefore likely to be disclosed and exploited illegally,” the agency stated. The compromised information includes “names, dates of birth, France Travail identifiers, email and postal addresses, and telephone numbers.” France Travail clarified that bank details were not affected. The agency has reported the breach to the National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) and has filed a complaint.
In 2024, France Travail was previously targeted by a hacking incident. The number of individuals affected by the earlier data theft remains unknown. Three individuals were charged following an investigation by the cybercrime unit (BL2C) of the Paris Police Prefecture.
Key Details:
- Target: France Travail (French employment agency)
- Data Breached: Personal data of 340,000 job seekers
- Compromised Data: Names, dates of birth, identifiers, addresses, phone numbers
- Source of Attack: Compromised account of a training organization
- Current Status: Investigation underway, complaint filed with CNIL
Source: AFP
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