Finnish agency says Danish data breach could happen in Finland

Finland’s Digital and Population Data Services Agency says a data breach like the one reported in Denmark could theoretically happen in Finland. The agency’s unit director, Joonas Kankaanrinne, told Yle that the incident was serious.

Hackers reportedly accessed Denmark’s population register database by misusing a Danish company’s legitimate access to the system. The company has since been disconnected from the database, according to Danish broadcaster DR.

Reports from Denmark say the hackers may have accessed the personal identity codes of as many as 8.8 million people, although it is not yet clear how many codes were taken from the system. Such codes could potentially be used to make unauthorised requests for personal data.

Kankaanrinne said he does not know the details of Denmark’s systems, but expects them to use solutions similar to those in Finland. In Finland, requests for information through the agency’s services concern individual people and require the requester to know the person’s identity code.

The Finnish agency provides information services to numerous customers, including the entire central government and companies such as insurance firms. Kankaanrinne said each public authority and company is responsible for ensuring its own information security.

The agency plans to contact its Danish counterparts to discuss lessons from the breach, but Kankaanrinne said they should be given time to investigate the incident first.