France suffered the largest cyberattack in its telecommunications history.

French telecommunications giant Orange, one of the largest mobile operators in Europe and Africa, announced on Monday, July 28, that it had detected a massive cyberattack that affected its internal systems.

The company, which provides services to more than 290 million customers worldwide, reported that, as part of its response to the incident, disruptions were caused in most of its services, especially in France.

The attack was detected last Friday, July 25, and the company's cybersecurity subsidiary was immediately activated to contain and isolate potentially compromised services.

The scope of the attack

This intervention made it possible to limit the impact of the attack, but it also caused the interruption of services and management platforms for corporate clients and consumers, mainly in French territory, which took hours to fully resume operations. 

So far, the company states that there are no indications that any customer data or the company's own data have been extracted. However, it declared that it remains on alert while the investigation continues. 

Orange also filed a formal complaint with the relevant authorities and refrained from disclosing further details about the breach for security reasons. 

Concerns about cyberespionage are growing

This incident occurs in a context of growing concern about cyber threats targeting the telecommunications sector in France.

The National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (ANSSI) recently warned in its annual report about cyberespionage campaigns led by state actors.

The report documented multiple dangers in recent years, including unauthorized access to the core of mobile networks and satellite communications infrastructures, with the aim of intercepting communications of specific individuals.

A group of hackers linked to Chinese intelligence is suspected

Although Orange has not attributed the attack to any specific group, the nature of the incident shows similarities with other large-scale campaigns attributed to the Chinese espionage group known as Salt Typhoon, which is believed to have connections with its country's government. 

This group has been identified by the FBI and U.S. agencies as responsible for recent attacks against telecommunications providers in the United States, including AT&T, Verizon, Charter, Lumen, among others, as well as in other countries.

It is worth noting that this is not the first cybersecurity incident affecting Orange in 2024. In February, its subsidiary in Romania suffered an attack that compromised a non-critical application.