Priya PatelTLDR:
A data breach of two French payment providers may impact up to half of the country’s population, affecting approximately 33 million people. The breach, which is the largest in France’s history, compromised sensitive personal information, including social security numbers. The two payment providers, Viamedis and Almerys, both handle payments for the medical insurance industry. The breaches were carried out by external threat actors and are believed to be the work of the same party. The attackers used phishing techniques to gain access to employee accounts. While the payment providers did not have bank details or medical data of customers exposed, the leaked data may be combined with existing profiles on the dark web for potential scams.
Despite limited details about the breaches, the incidents highlight several trends in cybersecurity. Employee phishing remains a successful attack method, aided by AI tools and deepfake audio. The attack on payment providers also underscores the increasing targeting of healthcare organizations for ransomware and data theft, as they possess valuable personal and financial information. The severity of the breach highlights the need for the healthcare sector and other organizations to prioritize cybersecurity and adopt newer technologies to prevent data exfiltration.
