Cyberattack hits French Catholic Education Secretariat, exposing data of 1.5 million people

Saturday 21 March 2026 - 17:40

The General Secretariat of Catholic Education (SGEC) in France reported a cyberattack on Saturday that compromised its primary school management application, exposing personal data of approximately 1.5 million individuals. The breach affected students, their families, and teachers.

In an official statement, the SGEC confirmed that unauthorized access targeted information including names, addresses, emails, phone numbers, and dates of birth. Stéphane Gouraud, Deputy Secretary General of Catholic Education, told AFP that the affected group includes around 800,000 primary school students, 40,000 teachers, and their families.

The incident was quickly identified, and the SGEC has suspended the affected services while cooperating with the Ministry of Education’s IT department to determine the source of the breach. Authorities have also been notified, and all school leaders, teachers, and parents have received guidance on enhancing account security and using strong passwords.

“The General Secretariat deeply regrets this situation and reassures the entire educational community of its full commitment to limit the impact of this attack,” the statement concluded.