France probes teenage suspect in massive ID data breach

The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a 15-year-old teenager suspected of hacking France's national identity agency, ANTS, and attempting to sell the personal data of millions of citizens on the dark web. The suspect, whose identity has not been revealed, was detained on April 25 after being linked to the alias "breach3d." He is accused of listing between 12 million and 18 million lines of stolen data on hacker forums. ANTS confirmed the data, which includes ID cards, passports, driving licenses, and license plates, was authentic. The agency detected “unusual activity” on its network on April 13, and later sent emails to affected citizens advising them of the breach and urging caution against phishing attempts.

The cyberattack has escalated concerns about the safety of centralized citizen databases in France. ANTS also handles the age-verification app intended to prevent children under 15 from accessing social networks, adding another layer of scrutiny. The teenager faces up to seven years in prison and fines up to €300,000 if convicted of fraudulent access and data theft. The breach underscores the vulnerability of government systems and the growing threat from young, skilled hackers targeting sensitive public databases.