French defense contractor Naval Group hit by cyberattack targeting military ship combat systems
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Naval Group, France's largest shipbuilder and a defense contractor, has reportedly suffered a cyberattack that may have compromised sensitive military technology used in the country's naval fleet.
The cyberattack was publicly disclosed when threat actors claimed the breach on a data leak forum and attempted to extort the defense contractor.
Hackers claim breach of the following data:
- Source code used to power combat management systems (CMS) of military submarines and frigates
- Network configuration data and technical specifications
- Technical documents with varying classification levels
- Access to developers' virtual machines
- Confidential internal communications and exchanges
- Multimedia content including submarine monitoring system videos
The breach is potentially a significant compromise of France's naval defense capabilities. Combat management systems are the technological backbone for naval warfare operations, coordinating weapons systems, sensors, and tactical decision-making aboard military ships.
Attackers released a 13GB data sample. Cybersecurity researchers concluded that the leaked information appears to be legitimate. The sample included various contracts, technical documentation from combat management systems, and multimedia content timestamped 2003 that reportedly shows submarine monitoring systems.
The nature of the attack and any exposed individuals are not disclosed. Naval Group has not yet publicly commented on the alleged breach.
Update - as of 28th of July 2025, Naval Group says it is investigating the claimed cyberattack. The company claims no intrusion into their IT systems has been detected and operations are not impacted. They are characterizing the incident as a "reputational attack" and a "destabilization attempt." Naval Group is working with external cybersecurity experts and French authorities to verify the authenticity and origin of the leaked data.
