French Tax Hack Exposes Wealth Data of Thousands Amid Crypto Violence
A breach of the French tax authority’s internal servers has exposed the personal and financial records of hundreds of thousands of taxpayers, raising security concerns for high-net-worth individuals and cryptocurrency holders already facing a rise in physical extortion.
France’s tax administration confirmed a cyberattack that compromised its internal systems, exposing the sensitive records of 392,867 individuals and 285,570 businesses. The breach, which first surfaced on August 12, was claimed by a hacker using the alias ZeroBytes who infiltrated the DGFiP servers using stolen VPN credentials.
The extracted dataset contains highly detailed financial and personal information, including internal tax identification numbers, reference taxable income, and individual withholding tax rates. Cybersecurity experts caution that merging this identity data with precise financial metrics could enable highly targeted phishing campaigns and complex fraud schemes.
The leak is particularly notable for its exposure of high-net-worth taxpayers. The compromised files reveal significant wealth concentration, with 26,805 individuals earning at least €100,000 annually, 386 surpassing the €1 million mark, and eight exceeding €10 million.
ZeroBytes stated that the data transfer was cut short, yielding an incomplete cache of 678,438 files. The actor is currently shopping the complete database on an underground forum for several thousand euros.
The breach arrives during a period of heightened physical security risks for cryptocurrency investors. Jameson Lopp, a Bitcoin developer who tracks physical extortion, noted that the leak is "more bad news for Bitcoiners living in the leading country for wrench attacks."
These attacks, which involve physical violence to steal digital assets, have surged globally. According to blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs, 2025 saw roughly 55 reported incidents worldwide, while Lopp’s tracker documented over 70 last year and 54 so far this year.
France has become a particular hotspot for this type of targeted crime. Last year, criminals kidnapped Ledger co-founder David Balland and his wife, holding them for 24 hours before a rescue by authorities. The tax hack also follows closely on the heels of a separate data breach announced just a day prior by hardware wallet manufacturer Trezor.
