Pharmacy association KNMP reports data leak, newsletter recipients affected

A Dutch advocacy group for pharmacists warns that their personal data may have fallen into the wrong hands. On Friday, June 16, hackers broke into the mailing system for sending newsletters of the Royal Dutch Society for the Promotion of Pharmacy (KNMP). This enabled them to retrieve email addresses, as well as some names, addresses, and gender of newsletter recipients.

The KNMP sent out an email to warn about the data breach. In it, the organization writes that the hackers did not gain access to login, payment, or health data. The KNMP has reported the data leak to the Data Protection Authority and plans to file a police report.

Cybercriminals can use personal data such as addresses and names to commit fraud or send spam messages. For example, they can use the captured information to impersonate another person to obtain passwords or other confidential information in so-called phishing emails. "We urge you to be vigilant in this regard," KNMP wrote.

The leak was caused by an intrusion into the mailing system of an external party. A KNMP spokesman could not immediately say how much personal information of individuals was leaked. The organization has about 5,000 members who receive the newsletter, but other interested parties also receive the mailings.