France: 15-year-old hacker allegedly stole personal data of millions of French citizens

On or before April 13, 2026, a 15-year-old hacker breached the French national identity issuance agency ANTS, which manages sensitive data including IDs, passports, driver licenses, and vehicle registrations. The agency detected unusual activity on April 13 and notified citizens on April 22 about the breach, cautioning them against unsolicited contacts. The hacker, dubbed 'breach3d', is suspected of offering 12-18 million personal data lines for sale on dark web forums. The teenager was arrested on April 25 and held for interrogation. The breach raised public concerns over centralized citizen data security. French law penalizes illegal data access with up to 7 years imprisonment and fines up to 300,000 euros.