The Côte-d’Or departmental council in France announced it had fallen victim to a massive cyberattack. The attack led to significant disruptions on its official website, cotedor.fr, which began early that morning. The local administration worked throughout the day to address the situation and restore its services. By the end of the day, the situation was gradually returning to normal, though no further details were provided on the attack’s scale.
The department’s communication team explained that the attack appeared to target multiple administrative networks.
Its purpose seemed to be disrupting internal communications and hampering the council’s operations. Fortunately, no data breaches or leaks were reported, which helped mitigate the overall damage. The council assured the public that although the disruption was serious, there was no indication of personal data being compromised.
Authorities quickly speculated that the attack could have originated from Russia, based on certain observations. The department did not disclose the exact methods used to trace the attack’s origin, leaving some questions unanswered. The cyberattack reportedly began three days before it was officially acknowledged, and it significantly impacted local government systems, similar to other recent cyber incidents.
As of March 13, the website was back online and accessible, marking progress in recovery.
François Sauvadet, president of the Côte-d’Or departmental council, added more context about the attack. He revealed that the council’s website had been overwhelmed with 100 million requests per minute, leading to site saturation. Sauvadet also mentioned the heightened tensions between France and Russia, which may have played a role in the attack’s timing. Despite these challenges, the council confirmed that no personal data, including that of social benefits recipients, had been exposed during the cyberattack.
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