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Top 5 Cybersecurity Breaches in Luxembourg
Learn about the state of cybersecurity in Luxembourg and the 5 biggest breaches in this country.
Luxembourg is committed to raising awareness among citizens and businesses about data privacy, as well as facilitating the prevention, detection, and management of hacker attacks.
As a result, the country scored 13th on the Global Cybersecurity Index and the awareness of its citizens is close to Germany which is known for its care for data privacy.
The country mostly suffers from phishing (72% of cases) which is detected by both citizens and software. Other crimes fall under 10% – malware, information leak, spam, etc.
However, incidents still happen sometimes. Here are the top 5 cybersecurity breaches in Luxembourg.
As a result, the country scored 13th on the Global Cybersecurity Index and the awareness of its citizens is close to Germany which is known for its care for data privacy.
The country mostly suffers from phishing (72% of cases) which is detected by both citizens and software. Other crimes fall under 10% – malware, information leak, spam, etc.
However, incidents still happen sometimes. Here are the top 5 cybersecurity breaches in Luxembourg.
#1 Energy Supplier Encevo Loses 150 Gigabytes of Sensitive Data
The Encevo Group is Luxembourg's largest energy company which provides electricity and gas transmission as well as power generation including renewables. The group also works in Germany, France, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
In 2022, they were attacked by the same ransom group that attacked Colonial Pipeline in 2021 and distributors in Germany and Switzerland. Two entities of the group were hit – Creos and Enovos. The attack knocked out customer portals but did not affect other services, including power transmission. The cybercriminals claimed that they have 180,000 files, or roughly 150 Gb of data, including contracts, agreements, passports, bills, and emails, and demanded ransom.
The company started an investigation and asked users to change their passwords as soon as possible. The hackers likely used encryption malware but the company did not further comment on the incident.
In 2022, they were attacked by the same ransom group that attacked Colonial Pipeline in 2021 and distributors in Germany and Switzerland. Two entities of the group were hit – Creos and Enovos. The attack knocked out customer portals but did not affect other services, including power transmission. The cybercriminals claimed that they have 180,000 files, or roughly 150 Gb of data, including contracts, agreements, passports, bills, and emails, and demanded ransom.
The company started an investigation and asked users to change their passwords as soon as possible. The hackers likely used encryption malware but the company did not further comment on the incident.
#2 Hacker Received Access to 48,000 Medical Files in Luxembourg Healthcare Database
Human error is responsible for 82% of data breaches, and the case of the Medico database in Luxembourg has become a part of statistics.
A hacker was visiting a doctor and noticed the login and password to the database. It was written on the post-it, which is, unfortunately, quite a common way to store passwords. The hacker used the info and broke into the Medico database which included 48,670 medical files on licensed athletes. It contained medical data, such as injuries and surgeries, and personal details including addresses and information on the parents.
The incident happened back in 2012. Since then, the political party Pirate Party urged the government to protect the data better and spread more awareness about safety in the digital world. The investigators said that the files were not leaked, and the hacker looked through a minority of them.
A hacker was visiting a doctor and noticed the login and password to the database. It was written on the post-it, which is, unfortunately, quite a common way to store passwords. The hacker used the info and broke into the Medico database which included 48,670 medical files on licensed athletes. It contained medical data, such as injuries and surgeries, and personal details including addresses and information on the parents.
The incident happened back in 2012. Since then, the political party Pirate Party urged the government to protect the data better and spread more awareness about safety in the digital world. The investigators said that the files were not leaked, and the hacker looked through a minority of them.
#3 Hackers Ask for $500,000 in Ransom After Attacking Construction Firm
A large construction firm in Luxembourg was hit by a ransomware attack that cost the company its entire ecosystem. Hackers encrypted all the files and asked for $500,000 in ransom. All the operations stopped for some time.
The problem was in Citrix, an American software company. Hackers used the bugs in it to attack several big companies. Even though the bug was found, the company failed to inform the construction firm.
The company found the system backup so they chose not to pay the ransom. They created a new system in 6 weeks and replaced all the devices – computers, printers, faxes, badge readers, etc. It cost the company €300,000. They made the new system with two networks: internal and external. They work independently and if any of this happens in the future, the company will not have to stop all the operations like they did last time.
The problem was in Citrix, an American software company. Hackers used the bugs in it to attack several big companies. Even though the bug was found, the company failed to inform the construction firm.
The company found the system backup so they chose not to pay the ransom. They created a new system in 6 weeks and replaced all the devices – computers, printers, faxes, badge readers, etc. It cost the company €300,000. They made the new system with two networks: internal and external. They work independently and if any of this happens in the future, the company will not have to stop all the operations like they did last time.
#4 One Gigabyte of Data From the Luxembourg Justice System Was Leaked
It is one of the human error breaches as well. The Luxembourg justice system was not attacked by hackers but someone carried out around one gigabyte of data and leaked it to the press.
It included documents that date back to 2015, including public and internal ones: notes, reports, protocols, email exchanges, and personal information for people and businesses.
It included documents that date back to 2015, including public and internal ones: notes, reports, protocols, email exchanges, and personal information for people and businesses.
#5 Chamber of Deputies Website Leaks Names and Addresses of at Least 24,000 People
The website of the Chamber of Deputies compromised data in 2018 and 2021.
At first, it was purposely attacked. The hacker was able to access information to confidential documents including detailed maps of the Chamber buildings and information on bullet-proof windows. The Chamber claimed that only public documents were accessed but it was disproven later.
In 2021, the data of petition signatories were leaked. Due to the glitch in the IT system, their full names and addresses became public, even though it is confidential information and nobody gave consent for sharing. The data of 24,000 people were available on the website for a week. The Chamber fixed the problem after one of the users reported it and investigated the issue to find out who had been affected.
At first, it was purposely attacked. The hacker was able to access information to confidential documents including detailed maps of the Chamber buildings and information on bullet-proof windows. The Chamber claimed that only public documents were accessed but it was disproven later.
In 2021, the data of petition signatories were leaked. Due to the glitch in the IT system, their full names and addresses became public, even though it is confidential information and nobody gave consent for sharing. The data of 24,000 people were available on the website for a week. The Chamber fixed the problem after one of the users reported it and investigated the issue to find out who had been affected.
Conclusion
Cybersecurity moves further than managing your system safety. It is also about training employees and using reliable third-party software.
Do you want to take all the cybersecurity steps and have a plan for any emergency? Do not hesitate to reach out to Cyberlands!
Do you want to take all the cybersecurity steps and have a plan for any emergency? Do not hesitate to reach out to Cyberlands!
Cyberlands.io Team