Naval Group, France’s leading naval defense contractor, is investigating a data breach after a hacker claimed to have leaked sensitive information online related to the company’s submarine and frigate programs.
The incident began on July 23, when a hacker using the alias Neferpitou posted a 13GB bundle of files on DarkForums, claiming the data belonged to Naval Group.
The leak allegedly included internal communications, technical documents, virtual machine data, and potentially confidential information about warship control systems. The hacker gave Naval Group a 72-hour deadline to make contact—a move believed to be linked to ransom demands—but, after receiving no response, released the full dataset.
🇫🇷
🔻El gigante naval francés “Naval Group” investiga un posible ciberataque.Se dice que hackers tienen en su poder 1 TB de datos internos de Naval Group y ofrecen una muestra gratuita de 13 GB de su contenido.
Se dice que los datos incluyen código fuente relacionado con los… pic.twitter.com/xUTQydHCBM
— Ares, Information Service (@Aresinfoservice) July 31, 2025
So far, Naval Group said it has found no signs of a breach in its IT systems and is working closely with the French government as part of the ongoing probe.
“All our teams and resources are currently mobilised to analyse and verify the authenticity, origins and ownership of the data as quickly as possible,” the company said in a statement. “At this stage, no intrusion into our IT environments has been detected and there has been no impact on our activities.”
Position de Naval Group / Naval Group Statement. pic.twitter.com/weUU4N7LM8
— Naval Group (@navalgroup) July 26, 2025
In addition to supplying the French navy, Naval Group provides submarines, surface vessels, and defense systems to governments and naval forces across Europe, South America, Asia, and the Middle East.
The French defense ministry has not yet commented on the incident.
