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Suspect arrested after earlier cyberattack on French interior ministry

Published by Global Banking & Finance Review

Posted on December 17, 2025

2 min read

· Last updated: January 20, 2026

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Suspect arrested after earlier cyberattack on French interior ministry
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PARIS, Dec 17 (Reuters) - A cyberattack that hit the French interior ministry's email servers last week compromised at least a few dozen files, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez said on Wednesday,

Suspect Arrested in Cyberattack on French Interior Ministry

PARIS, ‌Dec 17 (Reuters) - A 22-year old man has been ‍arrested ‌after an earlier cyberattack on the French Interior Ministry's ⁠Email servers, which affected ‌more than 20 files including those with criminal records.

The French prosecutor's department said on Wednesday that the person arrested ⁠was already on police records after having been convicted of similar ​crimes this year. It said the ‌suspect was born in ⁠2003 but the prosecutor did not name the individual.

Interior Minister Laurent Nunez had said earlier on Wednesday ​that last week's attack was more serious than initially thought.

"It's serious," he told Franceinfo radio on Wednesday.

"A few days ago, I said that we ​didn't ‍know whether there had ​been any compromises or not. Now we know that there have been compromises, but we don't know the extent of them."

The compromised files included criminal records.

Nunez said a judicial probe and administrative investigation were ⁠underway, and the National Commission for Information Technology and Civil Liberties (CNIL) had been ​notified.

"I can tell you that there have not been millions of pieces of data extracted as of this morning (...), but I remain ‌very cautious about the level of compromise," he added.

(Reporting by Louise Breusch RasmussenEditing by Dominique Vidalon/Sudip Kar-Gupta/Frances Kerry)

Key Takeaways

  • A 22-year-old suspect arrested for cyberattack on French Interior Ministry.
  • Attack compromised over 20 files, including criminal records.
  • Suspect had prior convictions for similar crimes.
  • Judicial and administrative investigations are ongoing.
  • CNIL has been notified about the data breach.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a cyberattack?
A cyberattack is an attempt to damage, disrupt, or gain unauthorized access to computer systems, networks, or devices, often with malicious intent.
What is data protection?
Data protection refers to the practices and processes that safeguard personal data from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, or destruction.
What is financial crime?
Financial crime encompasses a range of illegal activities that involve the theft or misuse of funds, including fraud, money laundering, and cybercrime.

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