France opens formal probe into teenage suspect in massive ID data breach
Source: Rappler
Published on: 2026-05-01 08:50
PARIS, France - The Paris prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into a 15-year-old, suspected of having hacked the country's ID agency and trying to sell the data of millions of French people on the dark web this month, it said on Thursday, April 30. The teenager, whose identity was not revealed, was detained on April 25 and held in police custody for questioning after he was suspected of hiding behind the nickname "breach3d," a hacker who had put on sale on hacker forums between 12 million and 18 million lines of stolen data, the prosecutor's office said. Fraudulent access and theft of data managed by the state carries a punishment of up to seven years in jail and a fine of as much as 300,000 euros ($350,000). ANTS, the agency that stores personal data from French citizens such as ID cards, passports, driving licences and licence plates, confirmed the data put up for sale w...
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