Following the arrest of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov, a coordinated cyberattack took down several major French government websites on Wednesday, September 4, 2024.
Hacktivist groups carried out a series of distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, causing the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Digital Affairs, and several city websites to crash.
These attacks were part of a larger protest campaign, #FreeDurov, which sought Durov's release from French custody.
Durov, the founder of the popular messaging app Telegram, was arrested by French authorities in August 2024, sparking widespread outrage among pro-Russian and pro-Islamic hacking groups.
Several hacktivist groups orchestrated the cyberattacks, including the Cyber Army of Russia Reborn (CARR) and RipperSec, both of which are known for using cyber warfare to support political causes.
Since Durov's arrest, these groups have coordinated their efforts to attack French organizations.
Their goal is to put pressure on French authorities to release Durov, claiming that his arrest violates privacy and free speech.
CARR, a pro-Russian organization, is known for conducting cyberattacks on critical infrastructure in the United States and Europe.
RipperSec, a pro-Islamic group, has targeted a wide range of organizations worldwide, including US government agencies and financial institutions.
The DDoS attacks targeted several key French government websites. Among those affected were the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Transformation and Public Service, the National Frequency Agency (ANFR), and major city websites such as Angers and Nîmes.
These sites were overwhelmed with traffic, rendering them inaccessible for hours. The Transport Regulatory Authority was also impacted, which contributed to the disruption.
DDoS attacks are a popular method used by hacktivists because they are simple to carry out and extremely disruptive.
In these attacks, hackers flood a website with requests, causing it to overload and crash.
While DDoS attacks rarely result in data theft, they can cause significant disruptions, as seen in the recent wave of attacks on French government websites.
Cybersecurity experts have warned that the latest incident highlights the need for greater protection of digital infrastructures.
Although the attack was highly disruptive, it had a greater impact on website availability than on the security of government systems.
Experts also warn that such attacks may become more common as hacktivist groups ramp up their efforts to influence political outcomes via cyber warfare.