French authorities detain 15-year-old suspected in government agency data breach

French authorities have detained a 15-year-old suspected of selling data stolen from France Titres, the government agency that issues and manages administrative documents. The Paris Prosecutor's Office said the agency first detected suspicious activity on its network on April 13 and notified authorities on April 16. Investigators believe the minor used the alias breach3d to offer between 12 million and 18 million records for sale on a cybercriminal forum. France Titres later disclosed that the actual number of impacted accounts was 11.7 million. The affected data includes full names, email addresses, dates of birth, postal addresses, and phone numbers. The agency said the stolen information could not be used to gain unauthorized access to accounts. The minor faces charges for unauthorized access, persistence, and data exfiltration from a state-run automated personal data processing system, along with possession of software enabling the offenses. The charges carry a maximum sentence of seven years in prison and a fine of 300,000 euros. A judge is now overseeing the case, and prosecutors have requested that the suspect be placed under judicial supervision while formal charges are pending. The breach underscores the persistent vulnerability of government systems to cyberattacks and the increasingly youthful profile of suspects in major data theft cases.