The municipality of Asten has fallen victim to a digital burglary. At first it seemed to be about invoice fraud. It later became clear that unauthorized access had been made to approximately 23,000 personal data and other files. That happened at the end of last year. It is still unclear who was behind the hack.
It is also unknown what happened to the personal data. It is therefore unclear whether data has become public or, for example, has ended up on the dark web. This is a part of the internet that is not directly findable by search engines and where many websites and visitors are anonymous. If it appears that ‘sensitive and traceable information’ has been misused, the municipality will contact the victim(s).
Declaration made
The municipality of Asten says she is shocked and she has filed a report. The data leak has also been reported to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. The municipality has further increased security measures to end the burglary and prevent a recurrence. She also lets you know no money has been transferred to the person(s) behind the digital burglary.
According to the municipality, criminals have been able to illegally view names, addresses and financial data, such as bank account numbers and social security numbers, and copies of driver’s licenses, identity cards and/or passports. The municipality is still investigating which data is involved. This may take some time, she reports. It has become clear that unauthorized access has been gained to privacy-sensitive information in two mailboxes. Residents, companies and employees are asked to be alert as a precaution.
The fraud came to light at the end of last year, but has only now been made public. A specialized agency has been called in after the suspicions of invoice fraud.
2023-05-22 09:28:40
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