USA blamed for spy malware planted on French president’s network

A newspaper has published details of what it claims was a sophisticated state-sponsored hack into the offices of the French presidency earlier this year with the intention of stealing data.

And which country does L’Express allege planted malware on computers at the Elysee Palace belonging to officials working for then-president Nicolas Sarkozy? None other than the United States.

Yes, you heard that right – for once, it’s not China being blamed for spying on another nation. Instead, it’s the USA – a country that you would normally imagine are on reasonably cordial terms with France.

According to the newspaper, the malware attack took place in May 2012, shortly before the second round of presidential elections in France, but has been kept secret until now.

The newspaper alleges that the hackers used simple…

Read more in my article on the Naked Security website.

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Graham Cluley •   @gcluley

Graham Cluley is a veteran of the cybersecurity industry, having worked for a number of security companies since the early 1990s when he wrote the first ever version of Dr Solomon's Anti-Virus Toolkit for Windows. Now an independent analyst, he regularly makes media appearances and is an international public speaker on the topic of cybersecurity, hackers, and online privacy. Follow him on Twitter, Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky, or drop him an email.