Explainer
Why was confidential data across Denmark exposed by a single breach?
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In Copenhagen, government officials revealed that cyber attackers infiltrated the central population register by exploiting the legitimate digital access of a private company. The illicit queries exposed names, home addresses, and confidential identification numbers used throughout daily life in Denmark.
Copenhagen
The central register maintains files for 11 million individuals, preserving historical demographic records for deceased citizens and former residents who moved abroad. As a result, the cyber breach compromised 8.8 million personal records, vastly exceeding Denmark's active population of 6 million living residents.
- Total CPR records11 million
- Records accessed8.8
- Danish population6 million
As law enforcement agencies opened a forensic investigation to identify the unknown attackers, digital affairs minister Christina Egelund addressed the crisis, declaring that "Together with all relevant authorities, we are mapping the full scope of the incident."
“Together with all relevant authorities, we are mapping the full scope of the incident.”
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The story
Denmark reports national registry breach exposing records of 8.8 million peopleRead the article
Based on reports by
- Le Monde.frLe Danemark, victime d'une fuite historique de données
- Deutsche WelleDenmark: Data of millions compromised in hack
- Courrier internationalGigantesque fuite de données personnelles au Danemark, un incident "très grave
- The Irish TimesDenmark breach exposes personal data of 8.8 million people
- europa pressUn ciberataque filtra los datos de cerca de 9 millones de personas...
- Deutsche WelleХакеры получили доступ к данным 8,8 млн человек в Дании