French News Agency AFP Hit by Crippling Cyberattack 

• The well-regarded news agency Agence France-Presse was hit by a cyberattack that crippled its IT systems.
• At the moment, AFP is working on mitigating the disruption while continuing with global coverage.
• While the scope and attacker are yet unknown, it may be another pro-Russian hacker attack.

Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the world’s leading news agencies, reported a significant cyberattack affecting its information systems and disrupting transmission technologies critical for some of AFP’s clients. The security incident was detected on Friday, September 27, 2024.

Despite the security incident, AFP assured stakeholders that their global news coverage would remain uninterrupted during this challenging period, as AFP’s technical teams are collaborating closely with the National Authority for Information Security (ANSSI) to manage and mitigate the disruption.

French authorities have been alerted, and an investigation is underway to determine the breach's specifics. The motive and identity of the perpetrators remain unknown for the time being.

AFP is known for covering how Ukrainian civilians endure the ongoing war and publishing complex stories on people’s suffering.

The current breach is part of a concerning rise in cybersecurity incidents targeting critical infrastructure and media outlets worldwide. This cyberattack follows a series of high-profile attacks in France, such as the March incident targeting various ministries claimed by pro-Russian hackers—a claim not officially confirmed by French authorities.

With increased destabilization attempts attributed to Russia amid the Ukraine conflict, such assaults pose significant national security threats and risk undermining public trust in media institutions.

Globally, media organizations face heightened vulnerabilities to cyber threats, exemplified by similar attacks on Poland’s state news agency PAP, suspected to involve Russian intelligence. Lately, Poland’s cybersecurity experts have fought to counter Russian and Belarusian threats.

Recently, the FBI seized 32 web domains linked to the Doppelgänger Russian influence operation network that had been orchestrating a disinformation campaign aimed at the American public ahead of the presidential elections