Dutch Data Protection Authority Warns of Potential Data Leaks

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has warned that the Dutch must be prepared for the possibility of personal data being leaked or leaked in the near future. This is according to the DPA’s data leak report for 2022.
Data leaks are a persistent problem and can no longer be stopped, according to the AP. The Dutch must be prepared for the possibility that privacy-sensitive data has already been leaked or will be leaked in the future. To prevent or limit the leakage of personal data, measures must be taken.

21,151 Data Breach Reports in 2022

In the annual report, the DPA noted that a total of 21,151 reports of a data breach were made in 2022. Of these data breaches, more than 1,800 were the result of a cyber attack. The sectors with the most data breaches in the past year were healthcare, public administration, and the financial sector.
Large groups of people were often affected. The three largest data breaches of medical data in 2022 exposed the data of approximately 900,000 people. Since the introduction of the GDPR regulations in 2018, a total of more than 114,000 data breaches have been reported. 6,500 of these were the result of cyber attacks.
Cybercriminals mainly use leaked personal data to defraud large groups of people via phishing, according to the privacy regulator.

Practical Tips for Better Protecting Personal Data

The privacy supervisor also provides practical tips for better protecting personal data. In addition, it shows what actions people affected by a data breach can take and what they can expect from organizations after a cyber attack.