French Government Responds to Major Cyberattack on Tax Administration with ANSSI Audit and Outreach

On August 17, 2026, Sébastien Lecornu, the French Minister for the Armed Forces, led an interministerial crisis meeting to address the severe cyberattack targeting the French tax administration, specifically the Direction générale des finances publiques (DGFiP). Recognized as potentially the most serious cyberattack in the nation's history, this breach has affected 678,000 users, with the administration currently contacting 350,000 individuals to inform them about the incident.

Lecornu announced that he has formally requested an audit from the Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d'information (ANSSI) to thoroughly investigate the circumstances and vulnerabilities that led to this data theft. The attack has been attributed to the hacker group ZeroBytes, raising significant concerns over the security of governmental digital infrastructure.

In parallel, the government is contemplating establishing a Senate inquiry commission to delve deeper into the breach and its broader implications for national cybersecurity and public trust. The Prime Minister's convening of a crisis meeting underscores the gravity of the situation and the administration's commitment to managing the fallout.

This unfolding development highlights both the scale of the cyberattack and the immediate governmental actions aimed at damage assessment, mitigation, and accountability, as France confronts a critical challenge to the integrity of its public data systems.