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2026-09-01 07:13 UTC → 2026-09-01 10:33 UTC ·
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Cyberattacks on and new regulations impact French education system school year
A major cyberattack by As the group ZeroBytes has targeted 2026-2027 academic year begins, the French national education system, causing significant disruptions as the 2026 school year approaches. Initially reported as an attack that locked access to essential professional applications and messaging services, the breach has forced the suspension of various internal websites and systems system continues to secure data. In the Toulouse academy, officials have prioritized securing student assignments, higher education grants, exam retakes, and teacher salaries, though many administrative tasks must now be handled manually. The disruption has been described as particularly severe in the Nantes academy. On July 31, navigate the Ministry aftermath of National Education confirmed that a significant data theft had occurred, with hackers claiming to have accessed the personal information of tens of thousands of students and teachers. ZeroBytes cyberattack. While the Ministry announced a return to normal for 28 majority of the 30 academies, country has stabilized, the Nantes and Toulouse academies remain heavily affected. Digital tools, including professional messaging and student data processing software, remain suspended in these regions to prevent further issues, complicating registrations and withdrawals. As of late August, more than 850,000 teachers are returning significantly impacted by digital disruptions to school amidst these ongoing disruptions. In Toulouse, professional messaging and applications remain offline, with a full restoration of digital tools not expected for approximately two weeks. Karim Benmiloud, the rector of the Toulouse academy, expects digital workspaces to potentially relaunch by September 7. administrative tools. In Nantes, access to certain digital services remains only partial. Due addition to the outage, many schools are continuing to rely on paper versions ongoing recovery from the data breach, the start of class schedules and other administrative documents. As the 2026-2027 academic school year begins, approximately 11.6 million students in France are returning to school amidst the aftermath of is marked by new regulations, including a ban on mobile phones and connected objects in high schools. These challenges coincide with broader concerns regarding teacher recruitment and the attack. While most lingering impact of the country has stabilized, the Nantes and Toulouse academies continue to face cyberattack on essential digital disruptions affecting professional messaging and administrative tools. services.