French postal service, bank paralyzed by suspected cyber-attack

France’s national postal service, La Poste, and its banking arm, La Banque Postale, have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack, causing widespread disruptions to deliveries and online financial services at the height of the holiday season.

On December 22, three days before Christmas, La Poste reported that a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) incident had “rendered its online services inaccessible.” While customer data remained secure, the attack slowed mail distribution, including parcel deliveries. The Guardian reports.

Customers seeking to send last-minute parcels or collect items from post offices were being turned away, a significant disruption given that La Poste handles over two million items in the immediate run-up to Christmas.

La Banque Postale said on social media that access to online banking and its mobile app was also affected. Card payments at in-store point-of-sale terminals and ATM withdrawals continued to function, and online payments were still possible but required text-message authentication. “Our teams are mobilised to resolve the situation quickly,” the bank said. No group has claimed responsibility for the suspected attack.

The incident comes just a week after a cyber-attack targeted the French government, disrupting the interior ministry, which oversees national security. A 22-year-old suspect was detained in connection with that attack. Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez stated that the hacker had extracted several dozen sensitive files, including data on police records and wanted individuals, blaming “imprudence” at the ministry for the breach. Anonymous hackers subsequently claimed to have accessed nearly 70 million confidential records affecting 16.4 million French citizens.

Other recent cyber incidents in France include IT malfunctions at the BPCE group—home to Banque Populaire and Caisse d’Épargne—and attacks on private companies, including mobile operator SFR and DIY chain Leroy Merlin. Prosecutors also revealed that France’s counterespionage agency is investigating a suspected cyber-attack plot targeting an international passenger ferry, involving software that could allow remote control of the vessel’s computer systems. A Latvian crew member is in custody on charges of acting on behalf of an unidentified foreign power.

French authorities, alongside European allies of Ukraine, allege that Russia is conducting “hybrid warfare,” including cyber-attacks, against them.

By Vafa Guliyeva