Agence France-Presse (AFP), one of the largest global news organizations, recently informed French authorities of a potential data breach following a cyberattack. The incident, which took place last week, impacted a portion of AFP’s news delivery services to clients.

In an official statement, AFP confirmed that its technical teams, in collaboration with the French National Agency for IT Systems Security (ANSSI), are working diligently to assess and resolve the situation. The news agency also mentioned that it is conducting a thorough investigation but has yet to provide any further updates regarding the extent of the breach or whether customer data was compromised.

French data protection regulators, the Commission Nationale de l’Informatique et des Libertés (CNIL), acknowledged receiving a notification from AFP about the potential data breach. According to European GDPR regulations, organizations must notify authorities within 72 hours of discovering a possible breach. While the full scope of the incident remains unclear, initial reports suggest that AFP’s file transfer (FTP) servers may have been compromised, potentially exposing user credentials and sensitive content.

As the investigation continues, AFP has stated that it is uncertain who orchestrated the cyberattack or what their motivations were. Despite the disruption, AFP has assured the public that it continues to provide global news coverage, although parts of its website remain affected.

The AFP’s handling of this potential data breach demonstrates the growing threat of cyberattacks on global organizations, highlighting the importance of quick response and cooperation with regulatory bodies to mitigate the impact on both operations and data security.