Leak at Centre d'études et de recherches sur les qualifications

On 26 July 2025, Céreq — the Centre d'études et de recherches sur les qualifications, a French public research institution placed under the joint supervision of the Ministry of National Education and the Ministry of Labour — had a database holding personal records on 210,607 people published on a criminal leak forum. The data, which appears to come from the institution's online services and survey activities, was exposed rather than encrypted, making this a data-breach and disclosure incident rather than ransomware.

The dataset was posted on BreachForums and has been associated with a threat actor using the alias Angel_Batista, who has claimed a series of leaks targeting French public-sector and government entities. The exact intrusion vector (for example credential compromise, an exposed service, or a third-party processor) has not been publicly confirmed.

The exposed records reportedly included:

• Surnames and first names
• Email addresses
• Phone numbers

No financial details or government-issued identifiers were reported in this dataset. Even so, the combination of full names with contact details exposes affected individuals to targeted phishing and social-engineering attempts.

As of disclosure, Céreq had not issued a detailed public statement and the incident's containment and remediation status remains unconfirmed. The breach was catalogued by the French leak-tracking project bonjourlafuite.eu.org.