TL;DR
France’s national postal operator La Poste and its banking arm La Banque Postale were hit by a suspected distributed denial-of-service attack that put online services offline. Customers can still use in-person branches, and authorities have not confirmed who is responsible or whether the incident is linked to other recent breaches.
What happened
On Monday, La Poste reported a disruptive cyber incident that knocked many of its information systems offline. The company said its online mail services, website, mobile app and banking portals were temporarily unavailable. La Banque Postale, the group's banking unit, separately warned customers that access to its mobile app and online banking was temporarily disrupted. La Poste described the outage as a major network incident and advised customers that in-person postal and banking transactions remained possible. A Russian hacktivist group has claimed responsibility, but investigators have not confirmed that attribution. The outage arrives amid a string of other cybersecurity events in France, including the discovery of remote-control software on a passenger ferry and a recent Interior Ministry email breach that led to the arrest of a 22-year-old suspect. Officials have not said whether any of these incidents are connected.
Why it matters
- Disruption affected both postal operations and retail banking access, highlighting risks to everyday services when national providers are targeted.
- Temporary loss of online banking and postal apps can impede consumer access to accounts and services, particularly for customers who rely on digital channels.
- Unconfirmed attribution complicates response and public communication, leaving open questions about motive and potential for follow-up attacks.
- The incident adds to a string of recent cybersecurity problems in France, raising broader concerns about national infrastructure resilience.
Key facts
- La Poste reported the incident on Monday and characterized it as a major network incident.
- Affected services included online mail, the La Poste website, mobile apps, and online banking portals.
- La Banque Postale confirmed temporary unavailability of its mobile app and online banking space for customers.
- La Poste said customers could continue to carry out postal and banking transactions in person.
- A Russian hacktivist group claimed responsibility, but attribution has not been confirmed by investigators.
- The outage occurred amid other recent French cybersecurity incidents, including remote-control software found on a passenger ferry.
- The French Interior Ministry recently disclosed a separate breach of email accounts and stolen documents, including criminal records; a 22-year-old suspect was arrested in that case.
- It is not clear from available statements whether the La Poste outage is linked to the other incidents.
What to watch next
- Whether investigators confirm the identity or motive of the attacker: not confirmed in the source
- Updates on service restoration timelines from La Poste and La Banque Postale
- Any official determination about links between this incident and recent breaches or the ferry remote-access discovery: not confirmed in the source
Quick glossary
- Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS): A type of cyberattack that overwhelms a target's servers or networks with traffic to make services slow or unavailable.
- La Poste: France's national postal service, which provides mail, parcel and related services.
- La Banque Postale: The banking division associated with La Poste that offers retail banking services.
- Hacktivist: An individual or group that conducts cyberattacks to promote a political or social agenda.
Reader FAQ
Are La Poste and La Banque Postale services restored?
Not confirmed in the source.
Can customers still use postal or banking services?
Yes. La Poste said customers can carry out postal and banking transactions in person.
Has anyone been identified as responsible for the attack?
Not confirmed in the source.
Was customer data accessed or stolen during the outage?
Not confirmed in the source.
IN BRIEF Posted: 7:42 AM PST · December 23, 2025 IMAGE CREDITS: TECHCRUNCH (SCREENSHOT) Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai France’s postal and banking services disrupted by suspected DDoS attack France’s national postal and…
Sources
- France’s postal and banking services disrupted by suspected DDoS attack
- France's national post office hit by suspected cyber-attack
- Suspected DDoS attack takes France's post office offline
- Spotify music library scraped, DDoS disrupts French postal …
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