The French foreign ministry said Thursday its travel alert registry website had been pirated and citizens’ personal data “could be misused”.
In a statement the ministry did not say how many people were affected by the breach of the Ariane system, which lets people register for security alerts when travelling abroad.
Users reported receiving emails notifying them that their names, cellphone numbers and email addresses may have been stolen, but the ministry said none of the data was “sensitive” or “of a financial nature”.
The statement did not indicate who might be behind the attack.
“We immediately took the necessary measures to ensure this type of incident would not happen again,” it said, adding that the site was now safe to use.