Dutch Finance Ministry Detects Unauthorized Access to Internal Systems

Summary

The Dutch Ministry of Finance detected unauthorized access to policy-department systems on March 19 and blocked access on March 23. The intrusion’s scope is unknown; public services were reportedly unaffected.

Key points

• Unauthorized access to systems supporting primary processes at the policy department was detected on March 19.
• The ministry blocked access to the affected systems on March 23; the delay before blocking access is unexplained.
• The full scope of the intrusion, the systems’ contents and how deeply attackers penetrated remain unknown.
• Some ministry employees were affected, but services provided by the Tax Administration, Customs and Benefits were not affected, according to the ministry.
• The ministry said it would share more information when possible.