France accuses Russia of hacking Macron’s campaign in 2017

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said that Russia is responsible for several cyberattacks against the country over recent years, including the hacking of Emmanuel Macron’s election campaign in 2017, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to the French authorities, the cyberattacks against the country were carried out by Russian military intelligence, namely the group known as ART28 (another name is Fancy Bear). The Cyber Crisis Coordination Centre published a report based on the investigation into Russian cyber attacks targeting France.

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that since 2021, Russian hackers have hit about ten French institutions—public services, private enterprises, and a sports organization associated with the organization of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“ANSSI, alongside its partners at the Cyber Crisis Coordination Centre (C4), has observed the targeting and compromise of French entities by the APT28 intrusion set. Since 2021, this intrusion set has been used to gather strategic intelligence from entities located in France, Europe, Ukraine, and North America. In the context of the war of aggression started by Russia against Ukraine on the 24th of February 2022, espionage campaigns associated with the APT28 intrusion set and targeting Ukraine, North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, or European Union member states have been observed.”

On Tuesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot wrote on X that France “observes, blocks, and fights its adversaries” and published a video about the “silent war” waged by Russia against France.

In 2022, according to media reports, there was a serious cyberattack against the French Ministry of Defense.

“In the past, this method has also been used by the GRU to sabotage TV5Monde in 2015, as well as to attempt to destabilize the electoral process in France in 2017,” the report said.

In 2017, Macron’s headquarters suffered a large-scale hacker attack, which resulted in tens of thousands of emails and documents being leaked online just hours before the end of the official campaign.

At the same time, the French National Agency for Computer Security claimed that it had found no evidence of Russian hackers interfering with Macron’s election campaign.

The French Foreign Ministry pointed out that the APT28 unit has repeatedly carried out attacks against Ukraine, in particular in the context of full-scale aggression after 2022.

“These destabilizing actions are unacceptable and unworthy of a permanent member of the UN Security Council. They also contradict the UN norms on the responsible behavior of states in cyberspace, which Russia has signed,” the French Foreign Ministry emphasized.