Hackers Make Off With Data on 100,000 French State TV Contacts

Advertisement
By Agence France-Presse | Updated: 16 April 2015 14:23 IST
Hackers bypassed insufficient safeguards to make off with data on 100,000 contacts held on French state TV computers, broadcasters said Wednesday.

The attack occurred Tuesday and involved the theft of "a limited amount of personal data (names, postal and e-mail addresses and/or telephone numbers)," France Televisions said in a statement.

The data heist was especially embarrassing as it came just a week after TV5Monde, an international French-language network based in Paris, was forced off the air and the Internet for 18 hours by an attack said to be "unprecedented in the history of television".

The attack on TV5Monde was claimed by self-described Islamic State militants waging what they called a "cyberjihad".

Advertisement

However, the hack on France Televisions was believed to be criminal in nature, with the aim of selling the data.

Advertisement

The details the hackers made off with include 19,000 viewer requests to participate in televised games and well as 108,000 contacts dating from March 2014, according to the group's technical division.

"No passwords, no bank details were involved," the statement added.

Advertisement

"This data leak is now finished."

France Televisions' technical director, Stephane Van Bosterhaudt, admitted to AFP that the security measures that had been in place "were insufficient".

Advertisement

He said the data theft appeared to have been carried out by a group called Linker Squad, which uses its target's vulnerabilities to its advantages.

The same so-called black hat hacking group is believed to have been behind a January attack on a website linked to France's commercial broadcaster TF1.

Members of the group told a Belgian media outlet, Soir.be, that it had in its possession the France Televisions data and planned to "sell them and share them on the Web".

France Televisions has issued a warning to those affected by the theft to watch out for "phishing" attempts to gain access to sensitive networks or more data.

The group plans to file a criminal complaint on Friday.

 

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Advertisement

Related Stories

Popular Mobile Brands
  1. Best Diwali 2025 Wishes, Quotes, and Facebook Statuses to Share
  2. Madam Sengupta Is Now Streaming: Know Where to Watch This Bangla Crime Thriller
  1. Mysterious Asteroid Impact Found in Australia, But the Crater is Missing
  2. Thanal Comes to OTT: Everything You Need to Know About This Tamil Action Thriller
  3. Madam Sengupta Is Now Streaming: Know Where to Watch This Bangla Crime Thriller
  4. Ryugu Samples Reveal Ancient Water Flow on Asteroid for a Billion Years
  5. Scientists Create Most Detailed Radio Map of Early Universe Using MWA
  6. Mayor of Kingstown Season 4 OTT Release: Know When, Where to Watch Jeremy Renner's Crime Drama
  7. Our Fault Is Streaming Now: Know All About This Gabriel Guevara and Nicole Wallace Starrer
  8. The Conjuring: Last Rites Is Now Streaming Online: Know Where to Watch the Latest Installment from the Horror Franchise
  9. Delhi Crime Season 3 OTT Release: Know When to Watch This Shefali Shah Thriller Series
  10. Vast Space to Launch Haven-1, the World’s First Private Space Station in 2026
Gadgets 360 is available in
Download Our Apps
Available in Hindi
© Copyright Red Pixels Ventures Limited 2025. All rights reserved.