Attackers targeted a management tool that exposed subscribers' data.
The French ISP Free has confirmed that attackers breached its systems and stole customer personal information.
France’s second largest telco, the company said affected subscribers have been - or will be - informed by email shortly. According to Bleeping Computer, "no operational impact was observed on our activities and services" and "all necessary measures were taken immediately to put an end to this attack and strengthen the protection of our information systems."
Free said that the attack targeted a management tool that exposed subscribers' data. However, the attackers failed to access customer passwords, bank card information, and communications content.
The attacker drussellx claims to have impacted more than 19.2 million people, or nearly one-third of the population of France, and is auctioning the stolen data on the BreachForums website.
Written by
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with 25 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 17 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Forum, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and the National Cyber Security Show, and served as editor of SC Media UK, Infosecurity Magazine and IT Security Guru. He was also an analyst with 451 Research and a product marketing lead at Tenable.
