French Tax Website Hit by Cyberattack
Listen to the story
Impots.gouv.fr is the website for taxes in France. It is run by the French government. Hackers attacked the website.
The attack is called a cyberattack. This means bad people try to break into a computer system. They want to steal information.
News reports say hundreds of tax records may be stolen. This information is called data. It can include personal facts about people.
The website belongs to Bercy. Bercy is the name people use for the French finance ministry. The finance ministry manages money for the government.
People who pay taxes are called taxpayers. Their private information may now be in danger. This information is sometimes called sensitive data.
The government has not given many details yet. It is not clear how many people are affected.
This is a serious problem. Tax websites hold very private information about many people.
Vocabulary15 words
- cyberattack
- an attack on a computer or website
- data
- information stored on a computer
- Bercy
- the place in Paris where the French finance ministry works
- taxpayers
- people who pay money to the government
- sensitive data
- private information that must be protected
- hacker
- a person who breaks into computers
- government
- the group that runs a country
- website
- a place on the internet with information
- private
- not public; only for one person
- stolen
- taken without permission
- information
- facts about something
- attack
- an action to hurt or damage something
- system
- a set of computers working together
- danger
- a situation that can hurt someone
- records
- written or saved information about someone
Quiz
Answer key
1. A French tax website 2. It was attacked by hackers 3. True
Fill-in-the-blank listening
Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.
Impots.gouv.fr is the website for _____ in France. It is run by the French _____. Hackers attacked the website.
The attack is called a _____. This means bad people try to break into a computer system. They want to steal _____.
News reports say hundreds of tax _____ may be stolen. This information is called data. It can include personal facts about people.
The website belongs to _____. Bercy is the name people use for the French finance ministry.
People who pay taxes are called _____. Their private information may now be in _____.
The government has not given many details yet. It is not clear how many people are _____.