Campus France: 18,000 applications exposed after a leak targeting a public service

On 29 April 2026, Campus France — the French public agency that promotes higher education abroad and manages applications from international students — was hit by a data leak when a threat actor posted a partial database for sale on a cybercriminal forum. The data was attributed to toucan.campusfrance.org, the agency's online candidature platform, suggesting the compromise of that specific application service rather than Campus France's core systems.

The leaked archive was advertised as roughly 430 MB in JSON format and contained approximately 18,000 student application files. The actor behind the post was identified in some reporting as "ChimeraZ," though other coverage noted the claim carried no confirmed pseudonym; the authenticity and exact scope of the data have not been independently verified.

The exposed application records reportedly included:

• Candidate first and last names
• Email addresses
• Country of residence and country of birth
• Application (dossier) numbers
• Chosen programs and target institutions
• Application processing history
• Administrative contact details

Because the dataset concerns foreign students navigating French admissions, the exposed information is especially well-suited to phishing, fake administrative-fee and housing scams, and identity theft. As of initial reporting, no official statement had been issued by Campus France, and there was no public confirmation that the CNIL had been notified, leaving the status of the incident unknown.