"Highly likely" a foreign country behind massive Dutch police data breach, says minister
A foreign government agency or a group backed by a foreign country was probably behind the recent breach of a Dutch police information system in which the names and contact details of all police officers were stolen. In an update on the data theft first reported last week, Justice and Security Minister David van Weel said the "hack" also included contact details of employees in other Dutch government offices that work with the police.
"The intelligence and security services consider it highly likely that a state actor is responsible," Van Weel wrote in a letter sent on Wednesday to the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. Among the agencies involved in the investigation are civilian intelligence service AIVD and its military counterpart MIVD.
Van Weel confirmed earlier reporting that a "global address list containing Outlook business cards" was stolen. This includes the names, email addresses and work phone numbers for nearly all of the 65,000 police employees, including officers and support staff. In some cases, their personal information was included on the business cards.
The minister said that the "email addresses from a number of partners" of the police were also taken. This could include information on prosecutors, defense attorneys, legal representation, and probation service staffers.
"The AIVD and MIVD have been warning in their annual reports for some time about the increase in offensive cyber activities by a number of countries," Van Weel wrote. Both offices were given the authority earlier this year to react to a range of cyberattacks more quickly. This happened a month after the February announcement when the MIVD claimed a Chinese-backed hacking group tried to spy on a Dutch military system using malware on installed on a FortiGate system.
In the AIVD's 2023 annual report published in April, the organization warned specifically of a threat of cyberattacks and computer espionage from China as it hunts ways to gain advantages over other countries. Meanwhile in 2022, the MIVD said that Russian state hacking groups, including a military unit, also attempted to infiltrate Dutch organizations.
"I can imagine that police officers are concerned about the possible consequences of the hack. The chief of police and I take the hack at the police very seriously," Van Weel stated. "The police immediately implemented security measures after being informed by the intelligence services. The police, together with national (security) partners, are doing everything they can to protect police officers and prevent further damage."
