France has for the first time officially acknowledged Russian military intelligenceʼs responsibility for cyberattacks against TV5Monde in 2015, which led to the closure of the French TV channel and the hacking of Emmanuel Macronʼs teamʼs emails during the 2017 presidential campaign.
This was stated by French Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot and written by the press service of his department.
“Russia’s military intelligence (GRU) has been conducting cyberattacks against France for several years, using a hacking group known as APT28,” he wrote.
APT28 is an acronym for Advanced Persistent Threat. The hacking group is well-known to the United States and European Union countries, which have already imposed sanctions on people and organizations associated with it.
According to the French Foreign Ministry, APT28 has attacked around ten French institutions, both public and private, since 2021. These included organizations involved in the preparations for the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Previously, the same hackers were behind the cyberattack on TV5Monde in 2015 and an attempt to interfere in the 2017 French elections.
In addition, APT28 is used for constant attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure, as well as against other European countries.
The French Foreign Ministry stressed that such cyberattacks are unacceptable, especially from a permanent member of the UN Security Council. They violate international norms that Russia itself has officially supported.
- The Russian hacking group APT28 has been operating around the world since at least 2004.
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