Cyber ​​attack in Netherlands: Hackers steal data from all police officers

The Hague (Netherlands) – The leader of the Dutch police union “NPB”, Nine Kooiman (43), spoke of a “nightmare”. Because the extent of the data leak cannot yet be predicted…

In our neighboring country, computer hackers have stolen the names and official contact details of all Dutch police officers, including employees working undercover. The Minister for Justice and Security, David van Weel (48), told Parliament that email addresses, names, positions and ranks of the “entire organization” had been skimmed The Hague with.

How the incident happened and who was behind it Cyber ​​attack is currently still completely open.

Undercover agents could be in danger

“There are certain groups to which we are now paying particular attention, including people working undercover,” explained the minister, who has held the position of justice and security minister since the beginning of July. They could be “in imminent danger,” the Dutch daily reported.The Telegraph“ and quotes Van Weel: “We are now taking stock of the impacts and risks.” And further: “The well-being of the employees comes first.”

According to the ANP news agency, Van Weel did not want to give further details “for security reasons”. However, no data on police investigations or private data of the police officers were leaked.

A police account was the hackers’ gateway

The illegal data outflow apparently occurred when a police account was hacked, police chief Janny Knol (55) reported. This gave the hackers access to the main file of the entire police-Organisation.

The exact number of those affected was not mentioned. According to the ministry’s annual report, there were around 64,000 full-time positions for police officers and other police workers in the Netherlands at the end of 2022.