Hackers steal personal data of 32,000 residents in Dutch town

Hackers have stolen personal data belonging to thousands of residents in a town in eastern Netherlands during a cyberattack that targeted the server of the Epe municipality.

The Epe municipality disclosed the cyberattack, which affected approximately 32,000 residents, last month after completing an extensive investigation, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

In the incident, contact details of residents were stolen. In addition, copies of identity documents belonging to more than 1,000 residents were also taken by the attackers.

“As a municipality, we are supposed to take good care of citizens’ data, and we take that seriously. Unfortunately, things went wrong anyway,” said Mayor Tom Horn, according to the broadcaster.

As stated in the report, all residents of the Epe municipality will soon receive a letter informing them about what happened and explaining what steps they can take to prevent misuse of their personal data.

To help reduce the risk of identity fraud, affected residents will be allowed to replace their driver’s licenses, identity cards, and passports free of charge.

The stolen personal information had been stored on a server that was used exclusively by employees who joined the municipal service after 2022.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev