France confirms major data breach exposing citizens’ personal records
The French government agency responsible for issuing identity documents has confirmed a significant data breach affecting citizens’ personal information.
The Agence Nationale des Titres Sécurisés (ANTS), which handles national IDs, passports, and immigration documents, said the compromised data may include full names, dates and places of birth, postal and email addresses, as well as phone numbers. The exact number of affected individuals has not yet been disclosed.
Authorities are investigating the cause and scope of the cyberattack while notifying those whose data may have been exposed.
ANTS said the breach was first detected on April 15, though details about the scale of the incident remain unclear. However, industry reports suggest that millions of people could be impacted.
According to Bleeping Computer, a hacker has already shared the stolen data on a well-known forum, claiming to hold a database containing more than 19 million records.
The post reportedly referenced the same categories of information later confirmed by ANTS and appeared online before the agency publicly acknowledged the breach on April 20.