Country also 2nd most affected worldwide, with 43.4M French accounts compromised
Ilayda Cakirtekin
27 July 2026•Update: 27 July 2026
ISTANBUL
A new study revealed Monday that France remained Europe’s most affected country by data breaches while it came second globally, according to broadcaster BFMTV.
The new study by cybersecurity company Surfshark found that 43.4 million French accounts were compromised during the first half of 2026, making France the European country most affected by data breaches and the second most affected worldwide.
The figure represented an increase of 62.3% compared with the second half of 2025.
According to the study, France accounted for more than half of all compromised accounts in Europe, with 58% of them linked to French users.
It also remained the second most affected country globally behind the US. The countries, together, accounted for nearly half of the 313.4 million compromised accounts worldwide between January and June this year.
Meanwhile, France had the highest density of accounts affected by data breaches. The figure means that the country had the largest number of compromised accounts worldwide relative to its population, with a record of 69.1 million.
France remained among those most exposed to data breaches for more than two decades. Since 2004, 756.6 million French accounts have been compromised, including 486.5 million passwords.
