Headlines June
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Police leak 1,000 email addresses when sending witness appeal
The police have suffered a data leak after it inadvertently leaked around a thousand email addresses when sending out a witness call. In an investigation into a serious assault that took place at a festival in Groningen at the end of April this year, the police sent an email to a targeted group of people yesterday, hoping to gather as much information as possible in this investigation. "By mistake, some of these email addresses are visible to all recipients. It concerns about a thousand e-mail addresses," the police announced. The mail was sent to people who visited the festival in question and possibly witnessed a serious assault there. Sending an email to visitors of the festival is not allowed and therefore permission was given in advance by the Public Prosecutor. "Of course, revealing the e-mail addresses of all recipients should never have been done. When the police were alerted to this, the message was immediately withdrawn," the police further state. According to the police, the email had already been opened by a large group of people at that time. A data breach was then reported to the Dutch Data Protection Authority and apologies were given to the persons whose email address had been leaked. The police state that there was human error. "We have used this means to take up this investigation comprehensively and carefully and to find out the person(s) responsible for the serious assault. But of course this should never be at the expense of citizens' privacy and we regret that this unintentionally happened anyway."
Source: https://www.security.nl/posting/755893/Politie+lekt+duizend+e-mailadressen+bij+versturen+van+getuigenoproep?channel=twitter
IT company Centric board resigns after conflict with owner Sanderink
The entire executive board of IT company Centric has resigned after a conflict with owner Gerard Sanderink, reports the Financieele Dagblad. The reason is a quarrel between Sanderink and his ex-girlfriend Brigitte van Egten that has gotten out of hand. The FD writes that Sanderink had involved his company Centric in legal proceedings in that quarrel, to the displeasure of the three executive directors. According to the newspaper, several well-informed sources report independently that top executive Johan Taams, coo Bart Fehmers and cfo Patrick Rosengarten have resigned because of the issue. The parties involved did not wish to comment. Centric says in a statement that Taams and Rosengarten "have a different view of the policy to be pursued" and are leaving for that reason. Nothing is said about Fehmers. The company will appoint a new top man as of July 1. Centric further emphasizes being a "solid company" where "3700 enthusiastic professionals work". Sanderink's lawyer could not be reached for comment. Tubantia writes that owner and IT millionaire Sanderink had Centric seize money that he had to pay in court to his ex Brigitte van Egten. By doing so his own company would block that payment and he would involve Centric in what top man Taams had earlier described as "a private matter".
Reputational damage
Centric's management wanted to institute proceedings against Sanderink in the Enterprise Chamber, a court for the business community, according to the FD, in order to "prevent further damage to Centric's reputation" and to "send Sanderink back to his pens". However, the step to the Enterprise Chamber was blocked by three non-executive board members of Centric, including Sanderink's confidants Aike Schoots and Louis Luijten. The three executive board members then drew the conclusion that they could no longer continue at Centric. Van Egten's lawyer calls the departure of the board members a "missed opportunity" and says that if Taams and Rosengarten had actually wanted to go to the Enterprise Chamber, this would have been possible. Now they are leaving Centric "like a sinking ship."
Rian van Rijbroek
Centric is one of the largest IT companies in the Netherlands. It works for the government, among others. There are also questions among members of the Lower House about Centric's reliability. The quarrel between Sanderink and ex-lover Van Egten arose after Sanderink started a relationship with Rian van Rijbroek. She calls herself a cyber expert, but her claims are highly questionable. A book she wrote on cybersecurity was taken off the market because of plagiarism.
Since Van Rijbroek has been in Sanderink's life, he has been fighting a feud with Van Egten. Time and again the courts have ruled against him, but he has repeatedly ignored these rulings. There is also unrest within Centric since Sanderink has had a relationship with Van Rijbroek. It is unclear how things will proceed within the company now that the management has resigned.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2431849-directie-ict-bedrijf-centric-stapt-op-na-conflict-met-eigenaar-sanderink
Power grid in Limburg and N-Brabant full, new companies not connected
There will be a temporary stop for new companies that want a connection to the grid for both the purchase and generation of electricity in North Brabant and Limburg. Existing companies will also have to deal with this, if they want a heavier connection. This is announced by national grid manager Tennet. According to the grid manager, this is the first time that they have had to halt the purchase and generation of electricity, because there is no more room. In North Brabant and Limburg, the high-voltage grid is full due to the rapid rise of heat pumps, charging stations, new businesses and the electrification of industry. Tennet says it will hold talks with parties in the near future to reduce the load on the electricity grid at peak times in return for payment. "This is obviously very regrettable news for the companies and institutions in these provinces. I will of course take the initiative to sit down with fellow authorities Tennet, Enexis and market parties in the near future to jointly seek relief for this situation," writes Rob Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy.
Unacceptable
The provinces call the lock on the electricity network unacceptable. "Just when we want to reduce our dependence on gas, the electricity infrastructure in much of the Netherlands is at its limit. This is unacceptable and needs to be resolved as soon as possible," said North Brabant deputy Anne-Marie Spierings. "This lack of capacity is very worrying for entrepreneurs who are doing everything they can to become more sustainable. This will seriously hamper the energy transition and the achievement of climate targets. Moreover, this is even more urgent now that we want to get off the gas faster because of Putin," let entrepreneurs VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland know. Brainport Development is also dissatisfied. "This is a sledgehammer blow to everything we consider important in the Netherlands. Sustainability, energy transition, activity, you name it," says spokesperson Daniella van Laarhoven. They will be meeting with the cabinet next week, with energy security definitely on the agenda. "It has been squeaking and creaking in Brainport for a long time." Chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven calls the stop bad news, but does not expect to notice any consequences in the short term. But the company emphasizes that a solution must be found quickly for the medium term.
Unknown for how long
It is still unknown how long the 'temporary stop' will last. Households are not affected for the time being. Nor will it have any impact on housing construction, according to Tennet. In recent months, more than 800 megawatts of new requests have been added in Limburg and North Brabant. That is equivalent to four times the capacity of Den Bosch. As a result, the maximum capacity of the network has been reached. Tennet has previously warned that the expansion of the electricity network is proceeding far too slowly, endangering the energy transition because new wind and solar farms cannot be connected in time.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2431946-stroomnetwerk-limburg-en-n-brabant-vol-nieuwe-bedrijven-niet-aangesloten
Fire destroys firelighter factory in Oisterwijk
In Oisterwijk (North Brabant) a fire has reduced a factory producing firelighters to ashes. The fire is now under control, but the fire department expects to be busy with the extinguishing for hours. Due to the fire, there were no trains between Tilburg and Boxtel for a few hours. The factory at De Nedervonder lies close to the railroad tracks. Train traffic resumed a little after 14:00. The fire released a lot of smoke and ash particles flew through the area. Therefore NL-Alerts were sent out in the area and people were advised to close windows and doors and turn off the ventilation. The fire, which broke out last night, released a great deal of smoke: It is not the first time that a fire broke out in the factory, writes Omroep Brabant. In September 2019, four fires broke out in a few days. According to owner Kees van Opstal, the fires at the time were caused by a different composition of one of the raw materials of the firelighters. As a result, the temperature of the firelighters would actually rise, rather than fall. Since the fires, the company has taken several safety measures to prevent the cubes from burning. The cause of today's fire is not yet known. No one was injured. The municipality of Oisterwijk has meanwhile announced that it will conduct a "thorough investigation" into the fire. Mayor Hans Janssen is not afraid to take far-reaching steps "depending on the results of the investigation" in the context of the granting of permits, he announced. The factory could lose the permits.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2432492-brand-bij-aanmaakblokjesfabriek-in-oisterwijk
Data company violated privacy of tens of thousands of patients for years
Commercial data company Medworq has collected complete medical records from GPs for years, reports Follow the Money (FTM). This seriously violated the privacy of at least 72,000 patients and the medical confidentiality of at least 35 GPs. The doctors and patients knew nothing about it. According to FTM, Medworq stored the data for years in unsafe locations without being anonymous. A whistleblower raised the issue of privacy violations internally and externally. When that was unsuccessful, he decided to take the medical files and internal documents himself. The files contained very privacy-sensitive data. The names, citizen service numbers and address details are linked to physical ailments but also serious personal problems such as domestic and sexual violence, and psychological complaints.
Patients are informed by doctor
Medworq collected the files to test software for medical dashboards. With those dashboards, general practitioners could track and follow patients. The software system was built on behalf of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Medworq tells FTM that the files will be destroyed around 2020. Medworq denies that GlaxoSmithKline had access to patient data. However, internal documents show the opposite, says Follow the Money. GlaxoSmithKline does not deny this when asked. FTM has approached the GPs affected and provided them with a fact sheet and further information that they can use to report the matter to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. GPs inform their patients themselves, it has been agreed.
Deliberate data breach maintained
Medworq reported to FTM that it had made a report to the Personal Data Authority (AP). It would also have reported the theft to the police. The company says the employee had taken the files because of a labor dispute. The employee left at the end of 2019, on a severance package. The AP cannot comment to FTM on whether Medworq was indeed notified. Medworq states that the affected GP practices were immediately informed after the ex-employee took the files.
FTM says that inquiries show that this is not true: not a single GP or practice was informed about the leak. Internal documents would show that Medworq had previously deliberately maintained a data leak at GP practices.
Soruce: https://nos.nl/artikel/2434062-databedrijf-schond-jarenlang-privacy-van-tienduizenden-patienten
Vitens can no longer supply water to food producers due to drinking water shortage
Drinking water company Vitens has already had to refuse water to five food producers this year, the company confirms after reports in the FD. Overijssel and Gelderland in particular are facing an impending water shortage for companies.
"Incidentally, this has happened before, but never on this scale," says a spokesperson for the largest drinking water company in the Netherlands. "And the year is not over yet." There have long been concerns about water shortages in the Netherlands. Consumption is increasing due to population growth and more demand from businesses. While inland areas in particular have been experiencing more frequent droughts in recent years due to climate change.
Water for households
In December, Vitens warned in a letter to the province of Overijssel that even the supply to citizens could be at risk in the future. "It is not yet the case that we cannot deliver to households," says the spokesperson. That's not allowed just yet either. Vitens is obliged to supply water to households in the regions where it is active. That obligation does not apply to deliveries to companies. "But you want to prevent companies in the food industry from not getting drinking water so they can't produce food." Those companies are legally required to use drinking water in their processes. "But it has come to this now," he says.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2434335-vitens-verkoopt-nee-aan-voedselproducenten-door-drinkwatertekort
The police have suffered a data leak after it inadvertently leaked around a thousand email addresses when sending out a witness call. In an investigation into a serious assault that took place at a festival in Groningen at the end of April this year, the police sent an email to a targeted group of people yesterday, hoping to gather as much information as possible in this investigation. "By mistake, some of these email addresses are visible to all recipients. It concerns about a thousand e-mail addresses," the police announced. The mail was sent to people who visited the festival in question and possibly witnessed a serious assault there. Sending an email to visitors of the festival is not allowed and therefore permission was given in advance by the Public Prosecutor. "Of course, revealing the e-mail addresses of all recipients should never have been done. When the police were alerted to this, the message was immediately withdrawn," the police further state. According to the police, the email had already been opened by a large group of people at that time. A data breach was then reported to the Dutch Data Protection Authority and apologies were given to the persons whose email address had been leaked. The police state that there was human error. "We have used this means to take up this investigation comprehensively and carefully and to find out the person(s) responsible for the serious assault. But of course this should never be at the expense of citizens' privacy and we regret that this unintentionally happened anyway."
Source: https://www.security.nl/posting/755893/Politie+lekt+duizend+e-mailadressen+bij+versturen+van+getuigenoproep?channel=twitter
IT company Centric board resigns after conflict with owner Sanderink
The entire executive board of IT company Centric has resigned after a conflict with owner Gerard Sanderink, reports the Financieele Dagblad. The reason is a quarrel between Sanderink and his ex-girlfriend Brigitte van Egten that has gotten out of hand. The FD writes that Sanderink had involved his company Centric in legal proceedings in that quarrel, to the displeasure of the three executive directors. According to the newspaper, several well-informed sources report independently that top executive Johan Taams, coo Bart Fehmers and cfo Patrick Rosengarten have resigned because of the issue. The parties involved did not wish to comment. Centric says in a statement that Taams and Rosengarten "have a different view of the policy to be pursued" and are leaving for that reason. Nothing is said about Fehmers. The company will appoint a new top man as of July 1. Centric further emphasizes being a "solid company" where "3700 enthusiastic professionals work". Sanderink's lawyer could not be reached for comment. Tubantia writes that owner and IT millionaire Sanderink had Centric seize money that he had to pay in court to his ex Brigitte van Egten. By doing so his own company would block that payment and he would involve Centric in what top man Taams had earlier described as "a private matter".
Reputational damage
Centric's management wanted to institute proceedings against Sanderink in the Enterprise Chamber, a court for the business community, according to the FD, in order to "prevent further damage to Centric's reputation" and to "send Sanderink back to his pens". However, the step to the Enterprise Chamber was blocked by three non-executive board members of Centric, including Sanderink's confidants Aike Schoots and Louis Luijten. The three executive board members then drew the conclusion that they could no longer continue at Centric. Van Egten's lawyer calls the departure of the board members a "missed opportunity" and says that if Taams and Rosengarten had actually wanted to go to the Enterprise Chamber, this would have been possible. Now they are leaving Centric "like a sinking ship."
Rian van Rijbroek
Centric is one of the largest IT companies in the Netherlands. It works for the government, among others. There are also questions among members of the Lower House about Centric's reliability. The quarrel between Sanderink and ex-lover Van Egten arose after Sanderink started a relationship with Rian van Rijbroek. She calls herself a cyber expert, but her claims are highly questionable. A book she wrote on cybersecurity was taken off the market because of plagiarism.
Since Van Rijbroek has been in Sanderink's life, he has been fighting a feud with Van Egten. Time and again the courts have ruled against him, but he has repeatedly ignored these rulings. There is also unrest within Centric since Sanderink has had a relationship with Van Rijbroek. It is unclear how things will proceed within the company now that the management has resigned.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2431849-directie-ict-bedrijf-centric-stapt-op-na-conflict-met-eigenaar-sanderink
Power grid in Limburg and N-Brabant full, new companies not connected
There will be a temporary stop for new companies that want a connection to the grid for both the purchase and generation of electricity in North Brabant and Limburg. Existing companies will also have to deal with this, if they want a heavier connection. This is announced by national grid manager Tennet. According to the grid manager, this is the first time that they have had to halt the purchase and generation of electricity, because there is no more room. In North Brabant and Limburg, the high-voltage grid is full due to the rapid rise of heat pumps, charging stations, new businesses and the electrification of industry. Tennet says it will hold talks with parties in the near future to reduce the load on the electricity grid at peak times in return for payment. "This is obviously very regrettable news for the companies and institutions in these provinces. I will of course take the initiative to sit down with fellow authorities Tennet, Enexis and market parties in the near future to jointly seek relief for this situation," writes Rob Jetten, Minister for Climate and Energy.
Unacceptable
The provinces call the lock on the electricity network unacceptable. "Just when we want to reduce our dependence on gas, the electricity infrastructure in much of the Netherlands is at its limit. This is unacceptable and needs to be resolved as soon as possible," said North Brabant deputy Anne-Marie Spierings. "This lack of capacity is very worrying for entrepreneurs who are doing everything they can to become more sustainable. This will seriously hamper the energy transition and the achievement of climate targets. Moreover, this is even more urgent now that we want to get off the gas faster because of Putin," let entrepreneurs VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland know. Brainport Development is also dissatisfied. "This is a sledgehammer blow to everything we consider important in the Netherlands. Sustainability, energy transition, activity, you name it," says spokesperson Daniella van Laarhoven. They will be meeting with the cabinet next week, with energy security definitely on the agenda. "It has been squeaking and creaking in Brainport for a long time." Chipmaker ASML in Veldhoven calls the stop bad news, but does not expect to notice any consequences in the short term. But the company emphasizes that a solution must be found quickly for the medium term.
Unknown for how long
It is still unknown how long the 'temporary stop' will last. Households are not affected for the time being. Nor will it have any impact on housing construction, according to Tennet. In recent months, more than 800 megawatts of new requests have been added in Limburg and North Brabant. That is equivalent to four times the capacity of Den Bosch. As a result, the maximum capacity of the network has been reached. Tennet has previously warned that the expansion of the electricity network is proceeding far too slowly, endangering the energy transition because new wind and solar farms cannot be connected in time.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2431946-stroomnetwerk-limburg-en-n-brabant-vol-nieuwe-bedrijven-niet-aangesloten
Fire destroys firelighter factory in Oisterwijk
In Oisterwijk (North Brabant) a fire has reduced a factory producing firelighters to ashes. The fire is now under control, but the fire department expects to be busy with the extinguishing for hours. Due to the fire, there were no trains between Tilburg and Boxtel for a few hours. The factory at De Nedervonder lies close to the railroad tracks. Train traffic resumed a little after 14:00. The fire released a lot of smoke and ash particles flew through the area. Therefore NL-Alerts were sent out in the area and people were advised to close windows and doors and turn off the ventilation. The fire, which broke out last night, released a great deal of smoke: It is not the first time that a fire broke out in the factory, writes Omroep Brabant. In September 2019, four fires broke out in a few days. According to owner Kees van Opstal, the fires at the time were caused by a different composition of one of the raw materials of the firelighters. As a result, the temperature of the firelighters would actually rise, rather than fall. Since the fires, the company has taken several safety measures to prevent the cubes from burning. The cause of today's fire is not yet known. No one was injured. The municipality of Oisterwijk has meanwhile announced that it will conduct a "thorough investigation" into the fire. Mayor Hans Janssen is not afraid to take far-reaching steps "depending on the results of the investigation" in the context of the granting of permits, he announced. The factory could lose the permits.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2432492-brand-bij-aanmaakblokjesfabriek-in-oisterwijk
Data company violated privacy of tens of thousands of patients for years
Commercial data company Medworq has collected complete medical records from GPs for years, reports Follow the Money (FTM). This seriously violated the privacy of at least 72,000 patients and the medical confidentiality of at least 35 GPs. The doctors and patients knew nothing about it. According to FTM, Medworq stored the data for years in unsafe locations without being anonymous. A whistleblower raised the issue of privacy violations internally and externally. When that was unsuccessful, he decided to take the medical files and internal documents himself. The files contained very privacy-sensitive data. The names, citizen service numbers and address details are linked to physical ailments but also serious personal problems such as domestic and sexual violence, and psychological complaints.
Patients are informed by doctor
Medworq collected the files to test software for medical dashboards. With those dashboards, general practitioners could track and follow patients. The software system was built on behalf of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. Medworq tells FTM that the files will be destroyed around 2020. Medworq denies that GlaxoSmithKline had access to patient data. However, internal documents show the opposite, says Follow the Money. GlaxoSmithKline does not deny this when asked. FTM has approached the GPs affected and provided them with a fact sheet and further information that they can use to report the matter to the Dutch Data Protection Authority. GPs inform their patients themselves, it has been agreed.
Deliberate data breach maintained
Medworq reported to FTM that it had made a report to the Personal Data Authority (AP). It would also have reported the theft to the police. The company says the employee had taken the files because of a labor dispute. The employee left at the end of 2019, on a severance package. The AP cannot comment to FTM on whether Medworq was indeed notified. Medworq states that the affected GP practices were immediately informed after the ex-employee took the files.
FTM says that inquiries show that this is not true: not a single GP or practice was informed about the leak. Internal documents would show that Medworq had previously deliberately maintained a data leak at GP practices.
Soruce: https://nos.nl/artikel/2434062-databedrijf-schond-jarenlang-privacy-van-tienduizenden-patienten
Vitens can no longer supply water to food producers due to drinking water shortage
Drinking water company Vitens has already had to refuse water to five food producers this year, the company confirms after reports in the FD. Overijssel and Gelderland in particular are facing an impending water shortage for companies.
"Incidentally, this has happened before, but never on this scale," says a spokesperson for the largest drinking water company in the Netherlands. "And the year is not over yet." There have long been concerns about water shortages in the Netherlands. Consumption is increasing due to population growth and more demand from businesses. While inland areas in particular have been experiencing more frequent droughts in recent years due to climate change.
Water for households
In December, Vitens warned in a letter to the province of Overijssel that even the supply to citizens could be at risk in the future. "It is not yet the case that we cannot deliver to households," says the spokesperson. That's not allowed just yet either. Vitens is obliged to supply water to households in the regions where it is active. That obligation does not apply to deliveries to companies. "But you want to prevent companies in the food industry from not getting drinking water so they can't produce food." Those companies are legally required to use drinking water in their processes. "But it has come to this now," he says.
Source: https://nos.nl/artikel/2434335-vitens-verkoopt-nee-aan-voedselproducenten-door-drinkwatertekort
Translated from Dutch to English with Google translate