France’s National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Anssi) reported 4,386 “security events” on computer systems in 2024, an increase of 15 percent from the previous year, according to data revealed on Tuesday.
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During the Paris Olympic Games and the rest of the year, 2024 was marked by a “large number of destabilisation attacks”, noted Anssi in its report entitled Panorama de la cybermenace (Panorama of Cyberthreats), published on Tuesday.
Anssi‘s director Vincent Strubel, told France Inter radio that for example, a pro-Russian group “threatened to attack sewage treatment plants, to pollute the Seine during the Olympic Games”.
He said that these actions were mainly carried out by pro-Russian and pro-Palestinian hacktivist groups, some of which may be affiliated with States,” he said.
Anssi refers to “hacktivist groups with a low level of technicality” but “a strong capacity to publicise their activities.”
In the report Anssi names operators like Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR) and Lulzsec Muslims, who “managed to access management interfaces exposed on the Internet.”
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Strubel says the actions put in place by French authorities to deter the wave of attacks was a success and “no computer attack disrupted the smooth running” of Olympic sporting events.
Anssi says that 4,386 security incidents were reported in 2024, representing 15 percent more than in 2023.
Of the total, 3,004 concerned abnormal or unexpected behavior on computer systems and 1,361 were labelled as security events where Anssi confirmed that a cyberattack had been detected.
Make an impression
Although a peak was reached in July, the incidents did not all concern the Olympics.
With regards to the other attacks carried out throughout the year, their aim was “to disrupt the functioning of different infrastructures, to make an impression,” Strubel told French news agency AFP.
According to Anssi, these attacks targeted renewable energy production sites, the State Interministerial Network (RIE) and telecom infrastructures.
In its analysis, Anssi noted an increase in attacks targeting IT security tools such as firewalls or VPNs.
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“When these devices have vulnerabilities, it’s pretty quickly catastrophic,” Strubel says. “It’s a little troubling to think that we’re buying security equipment that ends up being the gateway for attackers, but beyond that, the reality of the threat and the ability of attackers to seize it is something that concerns us.”
At the same time, ransomware attacks, capable of blocking access to a computer system in exchange for the payment of a ransom, have continued to flourish.
Small and medium-sized companies continue to be the preferred targets: in 2024, they represented 37 percent of ransomware victims, compared to 34 percent the previous year.
Universities and higher education institutions represent 12 percent of these types of ransomware attacks, Anssi reported.
Over the past few years, French President Emmanuel Macron has addressed the issue of cyber security and promised to inject significant funds into readying the country to tackle new threats.
(with newswires)