France probes compromise of gov messaging platform after account hijack
Authorities say the breach only exposed public chat rooms, but alleged attacker claims to have accessed far more data
French officials are investigating a compromise of the government’s encrypted messaging service Tchap after attackers hijacked an account and gained access to public chat rooms.
The incident came to light on June 7 when France's National Cybersecurity Agency (ANSSI) detected suspicious activity on Tchap, the government's homegrown messaging service used across ministries and public sector organizations. The French Digital Affairs Directorate (DINUM), which operates the platform, said it immediately began investigating the compromise and moved to block the affected account.
French officials insist the damage was limited and said the attacker could only see messages posted in public chat rooms, which are accessible to all Tchap users. Private conversations, the government says, are encrypted, and their contents remain inaccessible even when an account is compromised.
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