Dutch city website hacks prompt questions from Parliament

PvdA parliamentarians have questions for Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice and Minister Ronald Plasterk of Home Affairs following a hack into the municipality of Ede's website which gave hackers access to personal data of 3,700 Ede residents. Primarily the parliamentarians want to know whether this type of digital security should not be in national hands, the Gelederlander reports. Early in August the municipality of Ede revealed that their website was hacked after the breach was discovered. between May 20th and 24th of this year, someone from Eastern Europe had access to a database containing info on 3,700 Ede residents, who had made use of a certain contact form. The hackers used this contact form to redirect users to sites about loans or weight loss. It is unclear whether the information on the database was actually accessed. Parliamentarians Astrid Oosenbrug and John Kerstens wonder whether the security of municipal websites is not a matter that is above municipalities' competency to handle. They want to know whether the Ministers are planning to help municipalities to make sure their digital infrastructure is secure, and if so, how? The two PvdA parliament members also want to know whether the municipality pressed charges and what the Personal Data Authority has to say about the matter.