After the cyber attack at Limburg.net, hackers, probably of Russian origin, made off with national register numbers, addresses and other sensitive information of 311,000 heads of families. This is what ‘Het Belang van Limburg’ writes today. A large ransom is demanded, but Limburg.net does not respond to this.
On December 13 last year, Limburg.net suffered a cyber attack. The waste intermunicipal company immediately closed the digital systems for security reasons so that an extension of the attack could be prevented. The digital services were unavailable for days.
Extensive research now shows that a foreign hacker collective – probably Russians – was able to obtain an employee’s password. A large amount of data was reportedly downloaded in just a few days, even information from customers who had requested payment mediation.
According to Hans Roggen of Limburg.net, this concerns outdated data from 2014 and 2015. The 61 residents whose financial data the hackers were able to view will be notified personally and by letter by Limburg.net.
Ransom
The hacker collective also sent a threat to Limburg.net: if a ransom of 100,000 dollars (91,850 euros) is not paid before Friday, January 19, they threaten to distribute the hacked data. The board of directors of Limburg.net has decided not to respond to this. “A complaint has been filed with the police,” says Roggen. The company also says that it has followed the legal procedures that must be taken after a data breach. The Data Protection Authority and the Flemish Supervisory Commission are thus informed.
Limburg.net provides further information via its website www.Limburg.net. “Our customer service is ready to answer questions about the data breach to all involved. We ask that you first read all the information on the site.”
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