Headlines February
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Philips investors claim 800 million euros over sleep apnea affair
A group of over a hundred investors has claimed damages of more than 800 million euros from Philips. The company allegedly concealed health risks of sleep apnea devices for years.
When the problems became known in 2021, the stock fell sharply and shareholders made large losses. The group sent Philips a letter this week about the claim. This was reported by law firm DRRT, which represents the group together with Rubicon Impact & Litigation.
According to DRRT, Philips knew in 2015 that foam from the devices could break down into carcinogenic particles. The company did not share this with regulators, shareholders or the public, but continued to produce and sell the devices, making large profits from them, according to the law firm. Following recalls of the devices and announcements about investigations by regulators, Philips’ share price has fallen several times. The company’s market value plummeted by almost 28 billion euros between 2021 and 2024, according to DRRT. As a result, the group of investors claiming the money is said to have suffered significant losses.
Philips denies liability and says it will defend itself 'vigorously' against the allegations. "Philips believes it has always informed investors in a timely and adequate manner about the problems at Respironics," a spokesperson said. Respironics is the subsidiary of Philips that was responsible for the devices.
The spokesperson emphasizes that the group has not yet filed a formal claim. The interest group for private investors VEB already held Philips liable in 2022 for the losses of shareholders due to the sleep apnea affair. The VEB estimated the damage from exchange rate losses at 16 billion euros at the time. Philips settled 1.1 billion dollars in claims related to the scandal last year. Philips also reached an agreement to compensate American patients for economic damage caused by problems with the devices.
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4639723/beleggers-philips-claimen-800-miljoen-euro-om-slaapapneu-affaire
Employees of Borssele nuclear power plant infected during work
Two employees of the nuclear power plant in Borssele were contaminated with radioactive substances at the end of November. They got the radioactivity on their skin when it was released during work.This is evident from a report that the owner of the nuclear power plant EPZ filed with the nuclear regulator and which the company published this week. Omroep Zeeland wrote about the report this morning, which is classified by EPZ at the least serious safety level .
Everyone clean
According to the company, the two workers did not contract internal contamination thanks to their respiratory protection and were able to leave the building clean after showering. A third colleague, who was elsewhere in the room and not directly involved in the work, was not wearing protection but nevertheless did not become infected. A second check for possible internal contamination later showed that all three were definitively clean. Exposure to radioactive radiation can have harmful health effects, EPZ does not say how it could happen that the radioactive substances were released. Further investigation is being conducted into this.
Source: nos.nl/artikel/2554992-medewerkers-kerncentrale-borssele-besmet-geraakt-bij-werkzaamheden
Port director sounds the alarm: lack of power threatens the future of Moerdijk
The government must make quick decisions to solve the problems on the electricity grid. Otherwise, companies around the port area of Moerdijk are in danger of getting stuck. That is what CEO Paul Dirix of Port of Moerdijk says. He is thus aligning himself with the cry for help from the South Holland politicians who recently sounded the alarm about the shrinking industry around the port of Rotterdam. “What applies to Rotterdam applies to all seaports of national importance and therefore also to Moerdijk,” says port director Dirix. Industry in the port of Rotterdam has been shrinking for almost twenty months. The municipality of Rotterdam and the province of South Holland therefore want the government to intervene this spring.
“If this situation continues for too long, it will stop at some point.”
According to Dirix, a shrinkage of this magnitude is not an issue in Moerdijk. However, according to the CEO, there is also a 'real fear' that companies will leave if nothing changes. "If there is no prospect of a solution, companies will not make decisions about major investments. If this situation continues for too long, it will stop at some point." As the only seaport in Brabant, Port of Moerdijk is an important job engine for the West Brabant economy. More than twenty thousand people are directly or indirectly employed in the industry around the port. At present, companies are still dependent on a 150 kV high-voltage substation. Paul Dirix: “Companies want to make their production process more sustainable by replacing fossil fuels with electricity. With the current energy capacity, that is impossible.”
Objective of the government
The Moerdijk region has been designated by the government as one of the important locations in the Netherlands for energy transition (clean electricity) and circularity (making waste suitable as a raw material for new products). For all plans together, another thousand hectares of additional industrial land are also needed. That is almost a third on top of the existing situation. According to Dirix, the arrival of the 380 KV high-voltage substation is essential to retain industry for Moerdijk and to attract new business. The plans for the new high-voltage substation are currently being worked out. According to the planning, there should be clarity about the location of the installation by the end of this year.
"For the companies around Port of Moerdijk, there is actually only one thing that is really crucial and that is clarity."
Last month, Moerdijk welcomed no fewer than three ministers and a state secretary. They were updated on the necessity and consequences for the region of the expansion of the energy infrastructure. “Everyone recognizes the necessity, so the discussion is now mainly focused on the location. My advice remains not to wait any longer than necessary. Based on all the attention, you would expect that it will work out, although no concrete commitments have been made,” says Dirix. In addition to the shortage of electricity, just like in Rotterdam, the nitrogen dossier is also playing tricks on the industry in Moerdijk. “There will have to be a solution for the nitrogen problem, because otherwise we can’t do anything at all. Since this is a national problem, I assume that a solution will be found. For the companies around Port of Moerdijk, there is actually only one thing that is really crucial and that is clarity.”
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4643202/havendirecteur-slaat-alarm-gebrek-aan-stroom-bedreigt-toekomst-moerdijk
Hard drives with medical data found at flea market
A man from Breda accidentally found a large amount of confidential, medical information. The data were on hard disks, which he had bought at a flea market just across the border in Belgium. The hard drives contained medical data of hundreds of Dutch citizens with dates of birth, GP and pharmacy records, written out medication and citizen service numbers.
According to Robert Polet (62), it was pure coincidence that he came across the hard drives. “A few weeks ago I was returning from Turnhout, Belgium. I was on my way home, but stopped at Weelde Airport because I urgently needed to go to the bathroom,” he told Omroep Brabant. “Next to the airport was a flea market. I went to take a look and bought five hard drives of 500 gigabytes each from someone for 5 euros each.”
When he went home to check the disks, they turned out to be full of medical data from 2011 to 2019. The disks included dates of birth, GP and pharmacy records, prescriptions written and citizen service numbers of hundreds of people.
“That was quite a shock. I thought: how could something like that happen?” said Polet, a computer enthusiast who in daily life works as a driver for a health care provider. He also went looking for deleted files through a so-called “deep scan. In doing so, he found even more data. After his discovery, he decided to go back to the flea market to buy the other 10 hard drives. “Fortunately, they were still there,” he said.
Addresses from Utrecht region
Po let went to investigate and raised the alarm with an affected healthcare organization from Utrecht. According to the organization, the data came from a software company from Breda that was active in the healthcare sector. That company no longer seems to exist. The website is no longer online and nothing about the company can be found in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce, according to Omroep Brabant.
According to Polet, the addresses in the data he has searched so far come mainly from the area of Utrecht, Houten and Delft. But this is by no means all; he has only read out two disks. “I have thirteen more to go,” he says. How the hard drives ended up on the flea market is not clear. “It's a shame. Normally these disks are supposed to be officially erased and you get a certificate of that,” Polet knows.
Erasing data
It is true that disks should be officially erased, says Stefan Kasbergen. He is director of ASK Mobile Archive and Data Destruction and specializes in data destruction. “We have customers who really work on that,” he explains. “Such a certificate has no legal value. We therefore destroy on site, so that our client sees that it is done.”
Kasbergen does have an explanation for the dumped hard drives. “You can choose as a company to have it neatly destroyed and then you pay money for it, or you sell them to a 'refurbisher' and then you get money for it,” he explains. “You can, in terms of cost, figure out which is often chosen.”
In the case of Polet's find, he believes the hard drives came from a bankruptcy sale and ended up on the flea market that way. “That's how a bankruptcy trustee still gets some money.”
Polet has contacted a number of general practitioners, pharmacies and health care institutions to inform them of the data breach. He has also contacted the Personal Data Authority (AP). An AP spokesperson told Omroep Brabant that he could not comment on Polet's finding. “If a company or organization has reported a leak, we may be able to say more about it.”
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4643495/harde-schijven-vol-medische-data-verkocht-op-rommelmarkt
Municipality of Hof van Twente must really pay millions in damages for hack itself
Hof van Twente will pay for the millions of euros in damages the municipality suffered after a hack. The court of appeal ruled this today, after the district court had already come to the same conclusion in 2023. The municipality was hacked in 2020 and tried to recover the 4.2 million euros in damages from Switch IT Solutions. That company had been hired for the security of the online municipal systems. According to the municipality's lawyer, the company had "defaulted". The court previously ruled that the fault did not lie with the hired company and that the company did what was stated in the contract.
The municipality appealed against this, but again the judgment is that Switch IT Solutions is not liable for the damage suffered by the municipality due to the cyber attack, reports regional broadcaster Oost . According to the court, it has not been demonstrated that the company "failed to comply with the obligations under the agreement, or breached its duty of care towards the municipality". The hack took down ninety virtual servers and destroyed the backups. An international data recovery company eventually managed to recover the deleted files from the Civil Affairs, Social Domain and Financial Administration departments.
Source: nos.nl/artikel/2557248-gemeente-hof-van-twente-moet-miljoenenschade-hack-echt-zelf-betalen
Meal company employees infected with tuberculosis bacteria, GGD adjusts test method
At meal supplier Maître in Oude-Tonge on Goeree-Overflakkee, the tuberculosis bacteria has been detected in a small group of employees. This became apparent on Monday morning from the results of the GGD investigation, which tested 85 employees. The GGD is adjusting the test method for the sake of reliability. According to the GGD, no new cases of open TB have been detected. However, a number of employees have been diagnosed with tuberculosis bacteria. These people are not sick and not contagious. They will be given an appointment at the GGD to discuss the test results.
At the end of last year, the first report came in of a person with so-called open TB. That is the contagious form of the disease. This person worked at Maître in Oude-Tonge. In January, another report came in of someone with open TB.
Antibiotic treatment
After investigation, the GGD decided to perform a skin test on 156 employees of the company. This test gave a positive reaction in 85 employees. These people received additional investigation, but it now appears that no new cases of open TB have occurred.
However, a small group of employees have been diagnosed with the tuberculosis bacteria. They are being offered a course of antibiotics by the GGD, because if you do nothing you run the risk of getting open tuberculosis.The GGD has chosen to examine even more people with a new test method. Everyone who worked at the company until June last year will receive a letter to do a blood test. How many people that is is still unclear.
No more skin testing
These people will receive a blood test and not a skin test, as was done before. This is because the test that was done on the previously mentioned 85 employees was not reliable enough. It's like this: many of these employees come from Eastern Europe. Tuberculosis is more common there than here. So there's a chance that some of these people have had tuberculosis in the past or have been vaccinated against it (and therefore carry antibodies). In these groups of people, a skin test will give a false positive result.
Van Loon Group is the owner of Maître in Oude-Tonge and responds: "We are relieved. We take our duty of care very seriously and the health of our employees and a safe working environment are our priority."
A group of over a hundred investors has claimed damages of more than 800 million euros from Philips. The company allegedly concealed health risks of sleep apnea devices for years.
When the problems became known in 2021, the stock fell sharply and shareholders made large losses. The group sent Philips a letter this week about the claim. This was reported by law firm DRRT, which represents the group together with Rubicon Impact & Litigation.
According to DRRT, Philips knew in 2015 that foam from the devices could break down into carcinogenic particles. The company did not share this with regulators, shareholders or the public, but continued to produce and sell the devices, making large profits from them, according to the law firm. Following recalls of the devices and announcements about investigations by regulators, Philips’ share price has fallen several times. The company’s market value plummeted by almost 28 billion euros between 2021 and 2024, according to DRRT. As a result, the group of investors claiming the money is said to have suffered significant losses.
Philips denies liability and says it will defend itself 'vigorously' against the allegations. "Philips believes it has always informed investors in a timely and adequate manner about the problems at Respironics," a spokesperson said. Respironics is the subsidiary of Philips that was responsible for the devices.
The spokesperson emphasizes that the group has not yet filed a formal claim. The interest group for private investors VEB already held Philips liable in 2022 for the losses of shareholders due to the sleep apnea affair. The VEB estimated the damage from exchange rate losses at 16 billion euros at the time. Philips settled 1.1 billion dollars in claims related to the scandal last year. Philips also reached an agreement to compensate American patients for economic damage caused by problems with the devices.
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4639723/beleggers-philips-claimen-800-miljoen-euro-om-slaapapneu-affaire
Employees of Borssele nuclear power plant infected during work
Two employees of the nuclear power plant in Borssele were contaminated with radioactive substances at the end of November. They got the radioactivity on their skin when it was released during work.This is evident from a report that the owner of the nuclear power plant EPZ filed with the nuclear regulator and which the company published this week. Omroep Zeeland wrote about the report this morning, which is classified by EPZ at the least serious safety level .
Everyone clean
According to the company, the two workers did not contract internal contamination thanks to their respiratory protection and were able to leave the building clean after showering. A third colleague, who was elsewhere in the room and not directly involved in the work, was not wearing protection but nevertheless did not become infected. A second check for possible internal contamination later showed that all three were definitively clean. Exposure to radioactive radiation can have harmful health effects, EPZ does not say how it could happen that the radioactive substances were released. Further investigation is being conducted into this.
Source: nos.nl/artikel/2554992-medewerkers-kerncentrale-borssele-besmet-geraakt-bij-werkzaamheden
Port director sounds the alarm: lack of power threatens the future of Moerdijk
The government must make quick decisions to solve the problems on the electricity grid. Otherwise, companies around the port area of Moerdijk are in danger of getting stuck. That is what CEO Paul Dirix of Port of Moerdijk says. He is thus aligning himself with the cry for help from the South Holland politicians who recently sounded the alarm about the shrinking industry around the port of Rotterdam. “What applies to Rotterdam applies to all seaports of national importance and therefore also to Moerdijk,” says port director Dirix. Industry in the port of Rotterdam has been shrinking for almost twenty months. The municipality of Rotterdam and the province of South Holland therefore want the government to intervene this spring.
“If this situation continues for too long, it will stop at some point.”
According to Dirix, a shrinkage of this magnitude is not an issue in Moerdijk. However, according to the CEO, there is also a 'real fear' that companies will leave if nothing changes. "If there is no prospect of a solution, companies will not make decisions about major investments. If this situation continues for too long, it will stop at some point." As the only seaport in Brabant, Port of Moerdijk is an important job engine for the West Brabant economy. More than twenty thousand people are directly or indirectly employed in the industry around the port. At present, companies are still dependent on a 150 kV high-voltage substation. Paul Dirix: “Companies want to make their production process more sustainable by replacing fossil fuels with electricity. With the current energy capacity, that is impossible.”
Objective of the government
The Moerdijk region has been designated by the government as one of the important locations in the Netherlands for energy transition (clean electricity) and circularity (making waste suitable as a raw material for new products). For all plans together, another thousand hectares of additional industrial land are also needed. That is almost a third on top of the existing situation. According to Dirix, the arrival of the 380 KV high-voltage substation is essential to retain industry for Moerdijk and to attract new business. The plans for the new high-voltage substation are currently being worked out. According to the planning, there should be clarity about the location of the installation by the end of this year.
"For the companies around Port of Moerdijk, there is actually only one thing that is really crucial and that is clarity."
Last month, Moerdijk welcomed no fewer than three ministers and a state secretary. They were updated on the necessity and consequences for the region of the expansion of the energy infrastructure. “Everyone recognizes the necessity, so the discussion is now mainly focused on the location. My advice remains not to wait any longer than necessary. Based on all the attention, you would expect that it will work out, although no concrete commitments have been made,” says Dirix. In addition to the shortage of electricity, just like in Rotterdam, the nitrogen dossier is also playing tricks on the industry in Moerdijk. “There will have to be a solution for the nitrogen problem, because otherwise we can’t do anything at all. Since this is a national problem, I assume that a solution will be found. For the companies around Port of Moerdijk, there is actually only one thing that is really crucial and that is clarity.”
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4643202/havendirecteur-slaat-alarm-gebrek-aan-stroom-bedreigt-toekomst-moerdijk
Hard drives with medical data found at flea market
A man from Breda accidentally found a large amount of confidential, medical information. The data were on hard disks, which he had bought at a flea market just across the border in Belgium. The hard drives contained medical data of hundreds of Dutch citizens with dates of birth, GP and pharmacy records, written out medication and citizen service numbers.
According to Robert Polet (62), it was pure coincidence that he came across the hard drives. “A few weeks ago I was returning from Turnhout, Belgium. I was on my way home, but stopped at Weelde Airport because I urgently needed to go to the bathroom,” he told Omroep Brabant. “Next to the airport was a flea market. I went to take a look and bought five hard drives of 500 gigabytes each from someone for 5 euros each.”
When he went home to check the disks, they turned out to be full of medical data from 2011 to 2019. The disks included dates of birth, GP and pharmacy records, prescriptions written and citizen service numbers of hundreds of people.
“That was quite a shock. I thought: how could something like that happen?” said Polet, a computer enthusiast who in daily life works as a driver for a health care provider. He also went looking for deleted files through a so-called “deep scan. In doing so, he found even more data. After his discovery, he decided to go back to the flea market to buy the other 10 hard drives. “Fortunately, they were still there,” he said.
Addresses from Utrecht region
Po let went to investigate and raised the alarm with an affected healthcare organization from Utrecht. According to the organization, the data came from a software company from Breda that was active in the healthcare sector. That company no longer seems to exist. The website is no longer online and nothing about the company can be found in the trade register of the Chamber of Commerce, according to Omroep Brabant.
According to Polet, the addresses in the data he has searched so far come mainly from the area of Utrecht, Houten and Delft. But this is by no means all; he has only read out two disks. “I have thirteen more to go,” he says. How the hard drives ended up on the flea market is not clear. “It's a shame. Normally these disks are supposed to be officially erased and you get a certificate of that,” Polet knows.
Erasing data
It is true that disks should be officially erased, says Stefan Kasbergen. He is director of ASK Mobile Archive and Data Destruction and specializes in data destruction. “We have customers who really work on that,” he explains. “Such a certificate has no legal value. We therefore destroy on site, so that our client sees that it is done.”
Kasbergen does have an explanation for the dumped hard drives. “You can choose as a company to have it neatly destroyed and then you pay money for it, or you sell them to a 'refurbisher' and then you get money for it,” he explains. “You can, in terms of cost, figure out which is often chosen.”
In the case of Polet's find, he believes the hard drives came from a bankruptcy sale and ended up on the flea market that way. “That's how a bankruptcy trustee still gets some money.”
Polet has contacted a number of general practitioners, pharmacies and health care institutions to inform them of the data breach. He has also contacted the Personal Data Authority (AP). An AP spokesperson told Omroep Brabant that he could not comment on Polet's finding. “If a company or organization has reported a leak, we may be able to say more about it.”
Source: www.omroepbrabant.nl/nieuws/4643495/harde-schijven-vol-medische-data-verkocht-op-rommelmarkt
Municipality of Hof van Twente must really pay millions in damages for hack itself
Hof van Twente will pay for the millions of euros in damages the municipality suffered after a hack. The court of appeal ruled this today, after the district court had already come to the same conclusion in 2023. The municipality was hacked in 2020 and tried to recover the 4.2 million euros in damages from Switch IT Solutions. That company had been hired for the security of the online municipal systems. According to the municipality's lawyer, the company had "defaulted". The court previously ruled that the fault did not lie with the hired company and that the company did what was stated in the contract.
The municipality appealed against this, but again the judgment is that Switch IT Solutions is not liable for the damage suffered by the municipality due to the cyber attack, reports regional broadcaster Oost . According to the court, it has not been demonstrated that the company "failed to comply with the obligations under the agreement, or breached its duty of care towards the municipality". The hack took down ninety virtual servers and destroyed the backups. An international data recovery company eventually managed to recover the deleted files from the Civil Affairs, Social Domain and Financial Administration departments.
Source: nos.nl/artikel/2557248-gemeente-hof-van-twente-moet-miljoenenschade-hack-echt-zelf-betalen
Meal company employees infected with tuberculosis bacteria, GGD adjusts test method
At meal supplier Maître in Oude-Tonge on Goeree-Overflakkee, the tuberculosis bacteria has been detected in a small group of employees. This became apparent on Monday morning from the results of the GGD investigation, which tested 85 employees. The GGD is adjusting the test method for the sake of reliability. According to the GGD, no new cases of open TB have been detected. However, a number of employees have been diagnosed with tuberculosis bacteria. These people are not sick and not contagious. They will be given an appointment at the GGD to discuss the test results.
At the end of last year, the first report came in of a person with so-called open TB. That is the contagious form of the disease. This person worked at Maître in Oude-Tonge. In January, another report came in of someone with open TB.
Antibiotic treatment
After investigation, the GGD decided to perform a skin test on 156 employees of the company. This test gave a positive reaction in 85 employees. These people received additional investigation, but it now appears that no new cases of open TB have occurred.
However, a small group of employees have been diagnosed with the tuberculosis bacteria. They are being offered a course of antibiotics by the GGD, because if you do nothing you run the risk of getting open tuberculosis.The GGD has chosen to examine even more people with a new test method. Everyone who worked at the company until June last year will receive a letter to do a blood test. How many people that is is still unclear.
No more skin testing
These people will receive a blood test and not a skin test, as was done before. This is because the test that was done on the previously mentioned 85 employees was not reliable enough. It's like this: many of these employees come from Eastern Europe. Tuberculosis is more common there than here. So there's a chance that some of these people have had tuberculosis in the past or have been vaccinated against it (and therefore carry antibodies). In these groups of people, a skin test will give a false positive result.
Van Loon Group is the owner of Maître in Oude-Tonge and responds: "We are relieved. We take our duty of care very seriously and the health of our employees and a safe working environment are our priority."
Translated from Dutch to English with Google translate