Data collected after a cyberattack on the visa application site
France-Visas, the site that allows you to obtain your visa to stay in France, suffered a cyberattack on August 10. According to the Interior Ministry, this attack affected approximately 8,700 visa applicants to varying degrees.
The Ministry of the Interior Explain that a module of the France-Visas platform faced a cyberattack which was quickly neutralized. Despite everything, data recorded during the entry of a visa application could be stolen. This includes the first names, surnames, passport numbers or identity cards, date of birth and nationality of the applicant.
The 8,700 visa applicants who are affected by this cyberattack have received messages with recommendations for vigilance and precautions to be taken. According to the ministry, this data could give rise to diverted uses but limited in their effect, in particular because the information does not include financial or sensitive data within the meaning of the general data protection regulation (GDPR). They also do not allow administrative procedures to be initiated on behalf of the person, whether on the France-Visas portal or on any other French institutional site.
The government said it had lodged a complaint. An investigation is underway and the National Commission for Informatics and Freedoms (CNIL) has been seized. Measures have been taken to secure the platform and prevent events of this type from happening again, says the ministry.
