A teen has been arrested following a cyberattack earlier this month on France’s National Agency for Secure Titles (ANTS).

The breach – reported to have occurred on April 13th – exposed approximately 19 million ID records containing passport, national ID card, and driver’s license data.

Shortly afterward, a sample of the data was uploaded on a criminal forum under the name “breach3d.”

After detailing the exfiltrated data, breach3d appeared to taunt ANTS online, adding: “It seems the French government would do better to stick to the culinary arts: their digital defenses are as crumbly as their croissants.”

The dig appears to be a reference to numerous attacks on French institutions in recent years, leading to criticisms that the nation has become "operationally paralyzed" .

The Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office’s cyber unit was informed of the ANTs breach on April 16th, 2026, and immediately opened an investigation, which led to the arrest of a minor on April 25th.

According to a press release issued by the Paris Public Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday, an official investigation was launched on Wednesday.

On April 20th, the 15-year-old was formally charged and placed under judicial supervision, with the case continuing before a judge.

The suspected crimes include hacking into a government system, remaining inside it, and stealing data, which are serious offenses in France (potentially carrying a sentence of up to 7 years in prison and a €300,000 fine).

ANTS attack: latest teen arrest

ANTS confirmed unusual activity on its network on April 13th, as well as the authenticity of the data being sold on underground forums.

According to a letter issued by ANTS on April 15th, the incident was reported to the CNIL (France’s data protection authority), with ANTS also filing a criminal referral with the Paris Prosecutor.

April also saw the arrest of Peter Stokes, a 19-year old connected to the hacking group Scattered Spider.

Stokes was arrested with numerous electronic devices and at least two 2TB hard drives at Helsinki Airport. The Tokyo-bound teen was apprehended during one of many international trips financed by his hacking activities.

Some of his previous destinations included Dubai, Thailand, New York, and Europe.

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