Several French lawmakers have fallen victim to a malicious cyberattack, with one of them, National Rally MP Laure Lavalette, confirming her account breach. Another member of parliament revealed to POLITICO that the attack targeted representatives spanning various political parties. On Wednesday, this MP noted seeing many colleagues “lining up” outside the National Assembly’s digital support office, which specializes in advising officials on cybersecurity and best practices for handling technology securely.
In response to the attack, all lawmakers have been instructed to update their passwords and activate two-factor authentication on Telegram, a widely used encrypted messaging application in French political circles. However, governmental reliance on Telegram has waned following the controversial August arrest of its founder, Pavel Durov, in France.
The French prime minister’s office had already recommended a shift away from using Telegram prior to news of the breach. Ministers were instead urged to adopt Tchap, the French government’s proprietary encrypted messaging app, or Olvid, another secure French messaging platform that ensures end-to-end encryption.
Contributors to this report include Marion Solletty, Sarah Paillou, Jason Wiels, and Alexandre Léchenet. The original article was first published in French by POLITICO and edited in English by Joshua Berlinger.
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