Massive data leak scandal: Over 700,000 women victims in the Netherlands
The data breach at Clinical Diagnostics laboratory has proven to be much more serious than initially reported. The laboratory, which conducts population screening tests for cervical cancer on behalf of the Dutch population screening program, confirmed that data for 715,000 women has been leaked, an increase of 230,000 from what was previously mentioned.
Since 2017, about 941,000 women have participated in the cervical cancer screening program. The laboratory has admitted that it cannot confirm whether the data of the remaining 226,000 women is secure or not. Accordingly, the Dutch population screening authority decided to inform all 941,000 participants about the breach.
The leaked data includes highly sensitive personal information such as names, addresses, civil registration numbers (BSN), and medical test results. Although the population screening authority did not share email addresses or phone numbers with the laboratory, other healthcare providers cooperating with the laboratory may have done so.
The breach was carried out by the hacking group Nova. Initially, the lab announced that the hackers had published data on only 485,000 women. However, it later became clear that the cyber attackers had also stolen information from patients referred to the lab by general practitioners or other specialists. Personal data of at least 53,000 patients from these individuals has also been leaked.
The exact number of victims remains unknown, and the Clinical Diagnostics laboratory and its parent company Eurofins have not provided any response for about three weeks, according to NOS reports. In contrast, the law firm Van Diepen Van Der Kroef has launched a special platform for the victims of the breach to explore the possibility of filing a class action lawsuit against the laboratory. In just a few days, more than 50,000 women have registered on the platform, while the firm is currently working to accurately assess the extent of the damage and the possibility of proceeding with a class action lawsuit.