The central database holding records of residents or registered individuals in Denmark has been the target of a cyber attack. Hackers gained access to data of 8.8 million people.
The National Registry Administration (CPR) in Denmark has found that unauthorized individuals have illegally accessed its database, as reported by AFP.
An investigation is ongoing, but at this time, the perpetrators of this intrusion have not been identified, according to the source cited by News.ro.
Who is affected
The national registry contains data of 11 million people, whereas Denmark's population is around 6 million. In addition to individuals alive and residing in Denmark, the database also includes information about deceased individuals and those who have left the country.
Individuals benefiting from address and name protection are not affected by the data breach, authorities have stated.
How the data breach occurred
Hackers infiltrated the system by using the legal access of a Danish company. Meanwhile, the access has been blocked.
The administration was informed on Friday about an "anomaly" in the CPR system "during the month of September." Over the weekend, the number of obtained data was determined.
Following this data leak, the administration announced that measures have been implemented to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents.