AP-HP data flight: what if you are concerned?

Last week, 1.4 million French people were unlucky to learn from an email from public assistance-hospitals in Paris (AP-HP), that some of their personal data were stolen."We recommend the greatest vigilance, in particular with regard to attempts at fraud or phishing that could occur in the coming weeks," explains the organization's message, preceded by apology.

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At the end of August, the organization saw its database infiltrated by cybercriminals.They attacked a "secure file sharing service" and stolen the information of 1.4 million people having been dedicated to the COVID-19 a few months ago.Email, phone number, social security number, test result...Many sensitive data have been collected.The AP-HP, as the law obliges it, reported the incident to the National Commission for Data Protection (CNIL) and filed a complaint.A preliminary survey has since been carried out by the Paris prosecutor's office.

But individual victims can also file a complaint.The government has just made an electronic complaint available."The people concerned who would be victims of a malicious approach, by email, SMS telephone calls [...] are invited to file a complaint using the complaint form without the need to go to a police station or a gendarmerie, ”explains the cell responsible for cyber.

Just download and fill in the document, attach proof of data use, and send it to a specified email address.

See also - Cyberattaque: "Today, hospitals are targets", deplores Frédéric Valletoux (02/17/2021)

What are the risks ?

Data stolen by cybercriminals can be used for various purposes.The first risk is that of phishing, an SMS or email that looks like an authentic message from an actor of trust, such as a bank or a telephone operator, in order to obtain even more information, if possible.The CNIL recommends in case of doubt not to "consult the attachments", do not respond to the message and delete it "immediately".

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The second risk is identity theft.With information as sensitive as the social security number, it is possible that a person tries to pretend to be a victim of the leak.The digital gendarme then recommends "file a complaint as soon as possible".

In the event that the data is republished on social networks, the government advises to report "directly the pages, the accounts, the messages containing your personal data with the platforms [...] in order to have them deleted ".The key word is therefore vigilance.