Thursday, 11 August 2016 - 15:10
Personal data of 3,700 Ede residents leaked through municipal site
The personal information of about 3,700 Ede residents were accessed by unauthorized persons due to a security vulnerability on the municipal site, a spokesperson for the municipality confirmed to NU.nl.
The unauthorized persons had access to a database that is linked to a contact form. Residents could submit a question or asked to be contacted by completing the form, including filling in their names and email addresses. While no other info was asked for, it sometimes happened that people entered their social security number.
A member of the municipality's digital security personnel discovered the leak on July 8th during a routine check. He also discovered that some pages on the municipality's site were redirected to other pages about diet pills.
An external agency was called in to fix the problem. The municipality informed all affected residents about what happened in an email. The municipality also added a warning on the contact page that instructs residents never to submit sensitive information.