France & Estonia State Agencies Hit By ‘Intense’ Cyberattacks

On Monday the government of France said several of its agencies were hit by ‘intense’ cyberattacks. “Many ministerial services were targeted” from Sunday “using familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity,” Prime Minister Gabriel Attal’s office said.

The PM’s staff announced that a “crisis cell has been activated to deploy countermeasures”, meaning “the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to state websites restored.” The statement didn’t directly accuse Russia, but officials have implied it. It comes after Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu last month said that protection against “sabotage and cyberattack” by Russia should be a top priority.

While little in the way of specific details were initially given as to the targets of Monday’s intrusions, the attacks come days after newly appointed French Minister Delegate for Europe Jean-Noël Barrot charged that Russia is ramping up its cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns targeting Europe.

“We’ve been seeing over the past few months aggressivity towards European countries through cyberattacks, through disinformation, misinformation campaigns,” Barrot said of the Kremlin in a Friday interview with state-run France24.

“And this suggests that we need in Europe to display unity and strength and send this signal to Vladimir Putin that we will support Ukraine whatever it takes, and that we will stand alongside the Ukrainian resistance,” Barrot continued. He said this soon after French President Emmanuel Macron floated the possibility of sending Western troops to Ukraine, which has unleashed immense controversy even within NATO alliance countries.

This past weekend saw one of the largest cyber attacks ever launched against the Baltic state of Estonia, which has also been an outspoken supporter of Ukraine.

Regional media pointed to pro-Kremlin hackers for a devastating DDoS attack:

Over the weekend, the websites of numerous Estonian government institutions were targeted by the largest wave of DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks in the country’s history. The attacks, claimed by pro-Kremlin hackers, were reported by the Postimees newspaper on Monday.

“Thanks to the quick actions taken, the impact of the attack on the functioning of institutions was not significant,” the newspaper emphasized.

Dozens of public sector websites were reportedly targeted Saturday and Sunday, including sites for the Estonian Police and Border Guard Board (PPA), the tax and customs board, and the Ministry of Justice. 

Just days ago…

🚨 BREAKING: MICROSOFT HACKED BY RUSSIA

Russian state-backed hackers reportedly breached Microsoft’s core software systems, accessing source code repositories and internal systems.

Source: CNN pic.twitter.com/kkgstHAHU9

— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 8, 2024

“Pro-Kremlin hacker groups have been primarily claiming responsibility for the attacks, as was the case last weekend,” said the Estonian agency. Ukraine itself has also long been directly subject of Russian cyber warfare, however, NATO countries have assisted Kiev and have been largely successful in defending the country’s information systems.