Serious leak exposed at the Cadastre: residential addresses of millions at risk

Imagine this: you recently bought a house, thinking your information is safe. But then it turns out that a crucial organization like the Land Registry is exposing your data without any barriers. This is what actually happened. Research by RTL Nieuws reveals that millions of Dutch residential addresses were accessible to unauthorized individuals. This breach at the Land Registry means that not only professionals like notaries had access to full names and addresses, but practically anyone could.

The impact of this breach is enormous. Criminals and malicious actors could use this information to threaten, stalk, and even dox individuals. Moreover, there was illegal trading in this sensitive data. This breach posed a significant risk to countless Dutch citizens, including threatened journalists, activists, and politicians, as well as individuals with a stalking ex-partner.

The cause of this breach was alarmingly simple. Anyone could create a professional account for the restricted section of the Land Registry without their identity being verified. This meant that with a random registration at the Chamber of Commerce and a bank account number, someone could gain access to more than six million registered addresses.

The Land Registry took swift action to close this breach and significantly enhance security after the discovery by RTL Nieuws. They also emphasize that doxing, the publication of private information without consent, has been punishable since this year.

However, there are still steps to be taken. Although the Land Registry has announced that the name search function will eventually only be available to specific professional groups, we are still waiting for the necessary legislative changes to make this possible.

This breach raises serious questions about the current security standards of Dutch government institutions and underscores the importance of data protection in the digital age.

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