Government Secrets Sold to Criminals: A Growing Threat

In France, a tax worker sold private data to criminals. She used her job access to find details on crypto experts, a wealthy businessman, prison guards, and a judge. The criminals paid €800 to attack a prison guard at home. This case shows a bigger problem. It's not just about hacking or stolen data. It's about people with access selling secrets. Government databases are a goldmine for criminals. They contain names, addresses, phone numbers, and family details. In 2024, France saw 93 cases of data misuse and 76 cases of database theft. Criminals even sell this data on social media and the dark web. For example, €30 can buy a car registration lookup, and €150 can buy a check on wanted persons.Crypto holders are easy targets. Their assets are self-custodied, meaning no bank can freeze them. Once criminals know who you are, they can force you to give up your crypto. This is a real-world problem, not just a tech one. The French government is trying to fix this. They plan to remove home addresses of crypto business leaders from public records. But the problem is bigger than one law. Thousands of government workers have access to sensitive data. They can sell it easily and make a profit. The French police call this the "uberization" of data theft. It's like a service economy for criminals. The unit economics favor attackers. A simple data lookup can lead to a big payday. The French government is also planning a new tax on crypto holdings over €2 million. This will create a list of wealthy crypto holders, making them even bigger targets. The technical community focuses on key management for crypto security. But the real threat is physical coercion. If attackers know your address, your crypto keys won't help.