https://nltimes.nl/2018/03/30/passwords-33-million-dutch-online-search-engine
PASSWORDS OF SOME 3.3 MILLION DUTCH ON ONLINE SEARCH ENGINE
This article by Janene Pieters of the NL Times reports on the existence of a search engine where users can look up sensitive information, like emails and account passwords, that have been exposed via hacking. The victims of the hack are mostly employees of large Dutch companies and organizations, and include government workers as well. Dangerously, numerous emails from the Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs can be accessed through the search engine.
This hack comes at an interesting time in Dutch political environment as a referendum on allowing security services more access to civilian information, mostly in the form of phone taps was just posed. The referendum was voted down by the Dutch public but will still probably be enacted as legislation after minimal changes by parliament. I’d be interested to see if government workers, including parliamentarians, having been involved in this recent search engine hack will change their opinion on giving security services more access to civilian information that could be considered private.
Cybercrime file image. (Rendering: elbpresse/Wikimedia Commons)
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