France on Tuesday (April 29) accused Russian navy intelligence of being behind cyberattacks in opposition to the nation over the past decade, together with on President Emmanuel Macron’s 2017 marketing campaign and a TV community in 2015, the overseas ministry mentioned.
Russian navy intelligence (GRU) “has been deploying a cyber-offensive modus operandi called APT28 against France for several years. It has targeted around ten French entities since 2021,” Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot mentioned in a message on social media platform X.
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“In cyberspace, France observes, blocks and fights its adversaries,” he added.
Le service de renseignement militaire russe (GRU) déploie depuis plusieurs années contre la France un mode opératoire cyber-offensif appelé APT28. Il a ciblé une dizaine d’entités françaises depuis 2021.
Dans le cyberespace, la France observe, bloque et fight ses adversaires. pic.twitter.com/9NUdyG9hxa
— Jean-Noël Barrot (@jnbarrot) April 29, 2025
The accusations, labelled at GRU unit APT28, which officers mentioned was situated at Rostov-on-Don, should not the primary by Western powers, however it’s the first time Paris – referring to its personal intelligence gathering – has laid the blame on the Russian state.
Accusations of cyberwarfare on Russia
APT28, often known as Fancy Bear, has been linked to dozens of worldwide cyberattacks together with the 2016 US election, the place it was accused of aiding Donald Trump by leaking Democratic Party emails and people of the marketing campaign of Hillary Clinton.
Per week in the past, Netherlands’ Military Intelligence and Security Service (MIVD) had warned that Russia has
ramped up hybrid assaults geared toward undermining Dutch society and its European allies. The company disclosed {that a} Russian cyberattack tried to realize management over an unspecified Dutch public service. “It was thwarted, but it was the first time,” MIVD Director Peter Reesink had mentioned.
Last month, a report by the New York Times had recommended that over the course of the previous two years, Russia had stepped up cyberattacks in Europe and on the United States in a bid to stress them to curb their assist for Ukraine.
According to the report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, these cyberattacks had focused undersea cables, warehouses and railways.
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With inputs from companies
