VIENNA (Reuters) – A Dutch hacker arrested in November obtained and provided on the market the total identify, handle and date of beginning of virtually everybody in Austria, the Alpine nation’s police stated on Wednesday.
A person believed to be the hacker provided the information on the market in an internet discussion board in May 2020, presenting it as “the full name, gender, complete address and date of birth of presumably every citizen” in Austria, police stated in an announcement, including that investigators had confirmed its authenticity.
The trove comprised near 9 million units of information, police stated. Austria’s inhabitants is roughly 9.1 million. The hacker had additionally put “similar data sets” from Italy, the Netherlands and Colombia up on the market, Austrian police stated, including that they didn’t have additional particulars.
The Austrian data is so-called registration information – fundamental data together with a present handle that residents are required to offer to the authorities.
“Since this data was freely available on the Internet, it must absolutely be assumed that these registration data are, in full or in part, irrevocably in the hands of criminals,” the police stated, including that unknown folks have been believed to have paid for the information.
The 25-year-old suspect arrested in an Amsterdam residence was recognized to worldwide police and is underneath investigation by the Dutch police and judicial authorities, Austrian police stated. A spokesman added that the assertion was solely printed now in order to not hinder these investigations.
The police didn’t elaborate on the implications for Austrians’ information safety.
(Reporting by Francois Murphy; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Dutch hacker obtained virtually all Austrians’ personal information, police say
Dutch hacker obtained virtually all Austrians’ personal information, police say
data with out going by way of us first, so we are able to present you the most recent and best information with out costing you a dime. The two of you could be taught the specifics of the information collectively, providing you with a leg up. We’ll get to the subsequent step when just a little time has gone.
Our aim is to maintain you recent on all the most recent information from across the globe by posting related articles on our web site, so that you could be at all times be one step forward. In this way, you will by no means fall behind the most recent developments in that information.
Dutch hacker obtained virtually all Austrians’ personal information, police say