Tax authority hacking: 18-year-old placed under examination, 678,000 items of data stolen
An 18-year-old man, suspected of belonging to the Zerobytes group, has been placed under examination and remanded in custody for the hacking of the DGFIP. More than 678,000 taxpayers are affected.
Tax authority hacking: 18-year-old suspect in custody, hundreds of thousands of items of data compromised
The Paris public prosecutor's office announced on Friday to TF1 Info's police-justice desk the arrest and placement under examination of an 18-year-old man as part of the investigation into the hacking of the tax authority that occurred during the summer. The young man, who lives in the Paris region, was arrested on 18 August, then placed under examination on 20 August and remanded in custody.
The suspect is suspected of belonging to the computer hacking group "Zerobytes". This is not his first involvement in such proceedings: already known to police services, he had been placed under examination in June 2024, then again in January 2025, in cases of computer attacks carried out in 2023 and 2024. He was under judicial supervision at the time of his arrest.
Multiple charges and a second minor suspect
The charges against him are serious: unlawful access to and continued presence in a system for the automatic processing of personal data on an organised basis, extraction, transmission, reproduction and unlawful possession of data, participation in a criminal association for the preparation of an offence punishable by ten years' imprisonment, as well as refusal to hand over to the authorities the secret convention for decryption of a means of cryptology.
Furthermore, according to the Paris public prosecutor's office, a second individual — a minor under 16 years of age — was arrested on 26 August, then released at the end of his police custody to enable investigators to examine his equipment.
More than 678,000 individuals and professionals affected
The hacking of the General Directorate of Public Finance (DGFIP) occurred at the end of June and end of July. According to the DGFIP itself, the theft affected the data of at least 678,000 individuals and professionals. The Zerobytes group claimed responsibility for the attack on 16 July on a dark web site, also announcing intrusions into the systems of the National Education authority, France Travail, the French Handball Federation, as well as Intermarché and Bureau Vallée groups.
The anti-cybercrime office seized in July
An investigation was opened on 31 July by the cybercrime section of the Paris public prosecutor's office and entrusted to the Anti-Cybercrime Office (OFAC). The prosecutor's office states that investigations are continuing in order to "identify and arrest the other individuals implicated".
Source: TF1 Info