France Says 1.2 Million Bank Accounts Exposed In Database Breach

PARIS, Feb 19 (Bernama-Xinhua) -- France’s Economy and Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that its national bank account database, which holds information on about 1.2 million accounts, had been unlawfully accessed, reported Xinhua.

In a statement, the ministry said an investigation by the Public Finances Directorate General revealed that, beginning in late January, a “malicious actor” used stolen credentials belonging to an official to access part of the national database.

The national bank accounts database records all accounts opened with financial institutions in France and contains personal data such as bank details, the account holder’s identity and address, and, in some cases, the user’s tax identification number.

Once the breach was detected, authorities immediately implemented measures to restrict access, stop the intrusion, limit the amount of data consulted or extracted, and prevent any further unauthorised access, the ministry said.

The authorities have informed banking institutions of the incident and urged them to advise clients to exercise heightened vigilance, it added.  

--BERNAMA-XINHUA