France probes cyberattack on postal service claimed by pro-Russian hackers

France's DGSI counter-espionage agency on Tuesday took over a probe into a cyberattack on the national postal service after a pro-Russian group of hackers claimed responsibility, prosecutors said.

The attack, which began on Monday, disrupted several of La Poste's online services – including consumer banking and tracking registered mail – during the busy Christmas week.

La Poste said it was still delivering parcels and letters, but that, while things had improved slightly on Tuesday, "the situation remains unstable".

The cyberattack was claimed by Noname057(16), a pro-Russian group of hackers that has previously targeted Ukrainian media websites and government and corporate websites in countries including Poland, Sweden and Germany.

Read more Cyberattack disrupts France's postal service during Christmas rush

The Paris prosecutors' office told AFP that La Poste had made a criminal complaint, and the DGSI – the General Directorate for Internal Security – was called in to lead the investigation after the hacker group's claim.

The probe, "at this stage", is looking into the crime of a data service's functioning being deliberately disrupted, the office said.

Early Tuesday, when questioned about the cyberattack, French Economy Minister Roland Lescure told the BFMTV/RMC news outlet that "the priority of all priorities" was to make sure that parcels were delivered in time for Christmas.

Noname 57(16) emerged in 2022, the year that Russia launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine.

Experts say that its activities appear to be designed to support pro-Russian information warfare. They say the group appears to be a loose organisation of hacktivists.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP)