PARIS
France’s government launched a probe Thursday into a major cyber attack on the French TV5Monde network.
The breach was claimed by a group affiliated with Daesh called CyberCaliphate.
Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve and Culture and Communications Minister Fleur Pellerin visited the channel's offices on Thursday morning.
"All measures have been taken at the judicial level and an investigation has been launched," Fabius told reporters. "It is an attack of a new scale which should make all media networks extremely careful."
TV5Monde had lost total control of its TV station, website and social media accounts late Wednesday and it took three hours for the channel to get back on air.
The main website pages, however, are still unavailable "due to maintenance."
On TV5Monde’s Twitter account, pro-Daesh messages were posted in French, English and Arabic.
Hackers posted the expression "Je suIS IS" (I am Daesh), ID cards of French military personnel allegedly involved in anti-Daesh operations and a threatening message reading, "French military! Stay out of Islamic State! Take a chance to save your families!"
TV5Monde Director General Yves Bigot said his company has been "severely damaged" by the "unprecedented attack."
French PM Manuel Valls tweeted, "The attack is an unacceptable insult to freedom of information and expression."
TV5Monde is owned by a coalition of French-language broadcasters in France, Europe and Canada.
