Probe is still underway: French envoy on data theft from IAF’s Rafale team office in Paris

June 30, 2019

New Delhi: French ambassador to India, Alexandre Ziegler, on Saturday said the investigation into a possible data theft during the break-in into the Rafale project management team office in Paris is still underway.

“It’s still under investigation so I don’t want to comment, but definitely there were no secrets stolen,” the ambassador told ANI after attending the opening of L’Opera French bakery in Noida. The remarks came a day after a cyber forensic team claimed that no data was stolen from the computers of the IAF Rafale project team office where there the break-in took place last month.

“The cyber forensic these of the Air Force consisting three members has found that no data was stolen from the Indian Rafale project management team during the break-in by unidentified personnel there,” Defence sources told ANI here.

The three-member team had left for Paris soon after the reports about a break-in on a weekend were received by the IAF, they said.

The team was sent to France to probe if any documents were stolen or copied during the break-in into its Rafale Project management team office.

Unidentified persons broke into the Indian Rafale Project management team office in France in May in what was suspected to be a possible espionage attempt to steal data related to the aircraft critical to India’s national security plans.

The Defence Ministry has also been informed that there was no data theft from the IAFoffice during the break-in.

Sources said the main aim of the break-in could have been to steal data as valuables or money are not kept in these administrative offices. The Indian Rafale team office is situated in the vicinity of French Dassault Aviation office blocks.

IANS