In France, a data breach occurs once every hour. In recent months, several public bodies have been affected: La Poste, France Travail and the ANTS, the portal that issues identity documents. This confidential information, which is sometimes highly sensitive, is sold on forums. It’s then often purchased by cybercriminals and used to fuel all kinds of scams, including fraudulent operations involving bogus bank managers or brokers. It is often impossible for the victims to discern what is actually fake, and they’re then left to deal with the consequences alone.
It’s crazy that a data breach happens every hour in France. I got a call from a fake bank manager last week and almost fell for it—they knew my full name and address.
The ANTS breach is terrifying since they handle identity documents. How can we trust the system when our passports and ID cards are being sold on forums?
Tech debt accumulates silently until it becomes an existential problem for companies.
I work at La Poste and we weren’t even told about the breach internally until weeks after. Victims are left alone to deal with the mess while the companies just move on.
What I don’t get is why companies like France Travail don’t invest in better security. A breach every hour means someone isn’t taking this seriously enough.
Battery technology improvements are the bottleneck for so many other innovations.
Data privacy is becoming a boardroom issue and that’s long overdue.