An important department of the Dutch Tax Authority did not properly handle personal data of citizens and companies, according to several investigations into security in the Data & Analytics Department. As a result, the personal data of tens of thousands of Dutch leaked in various ways, including being sent to third parties or taken home by employees. The investigations also found that tax employees searched for information about individual tax payers, RTL Nieuws reports.
Personal Data Authority
Oct 19 '17 16:30
Aug 29 '17 11:30
Film distributor Dutch Filmworks (DFW) plans to soon start fining Dutch pirates, owner Willem Pruijssers said to RTL Z. Starting in October, the distributor plans to track Dutch illegally downloading or streaming its products. Those caught doing so will be sent a "settlement letter" with a fine amount, which they can either pay or fight in court, according to the broadcaster.
Jul 5 '17 08:49
Dutch fitness club Fit For Free has surveillance cameras in the locker rooms of 19 of its gyms, RTL Nieuws reports based on its own research. The gym claims it is an anti-theft measure, but privacy experts call it a "scandalous" violation of privacy. Fit For Free informed the broadcaster that the cameras are now turned off.
Jul 3 '17 09:26
An investigation into the Tax Authorities' practices in handling confidential information revealed ten cases of "unauthorized data exchange", State Secretary Eric Wiebes of Finances informed parliament in a letter. In one case, the State Secretary pressed charges with the Public Prosecutor, he wrote.
Apr 3 '17 08:59
The Dutch National Charity Lotteries issued an apology because a data leak resulted in details of 450 thousand players being accessible to hackers. About 900 players' bank account numbers were also visible. This involves participants of the Nationale Postcode Loterij, VriendenLoterij and the Bank Giro Loterij, NU.nl reports.
Feb 13 '17 11:15
The Dutch Land Registry's computer system does not have proper security and is vulnerable to major data breaches, according to Land Registry documents in the Financieele Dagblad's possession. A spokesperson for the Land Registry confirmed the authenticity of the documents to NU.nl.
Jan 6 '17 07:50
A third of Dutch hospitals' websites do not have proper security and a quarter do not even use a secure internet connection, according to a study by Women in Cyber Security (WICS), Trouw reports.
Dec 28 '16 14:50
Nearly a third of Dutch doctor's offices do not use a safe connection for their patients' online registration or applications for repeat prescriptions, RTL Nieuws reports based on its own research among over 300 medical practices.
A total of 197 practices gives patients the option of online registration and requesting a repeat prescription over the internet. Of these 29.3 percent did not use a secure https connection when sending medical data. This means that this sensitive information was sent over the internet unprotected, making it relatively easy for third parties to access.
Sep 9 '16 12:25
Hackers managed to break into the municipality of Almelo's servers and steal some 20 gigabytes of data. The exact data stolen is unclear, though it is "almost certain" that personal information was among it
Sep 8 '16 10:18
Minister Ard van der Steur of Security and Justice is pushing through with a law that will allow the police to store traffic camera photos showing license plates for up to four weeks. These photos are to be used for crime detection, despite serious objections by privacy organizations
Jun 16 '16 16:00
Companies and municipalities making use of WiFi tracking must make sure they honor the privacy of the people they track, the Personal Data Authority said on Thursday. The Authority felt it time to remind companies and municipalities of the rules as more and more are making use of WiFi tracking
