Dutch Ministry of Finance discloses breach affecting employees

Recorded: March 24, 2026, 4 p.m.

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HomeNewsSecurityDutch Ministry of Finance discloses breach affecting employees

Dutch Ministry of Finance discloses breach affecting employees

By Sergiu Gatlan

March 24, 2026
08:03 AM
0

The Dutch Ministry of Finance confirmed on Monday that some of its systems were breached in a cyberattack detected last week.
Officials said the ministry was notified by a third party of the breach on March 19, and it's still investigating the cyberattack. An ongoing investigation found that the incident affects some employees.
"The Ministry of Finance's ICT security detected unauthorized access to systems for a number of primary processes within the policy department on Thursday, March 19," an official statement revealed.
"Following the alert, an immediate investigation was launched, and access to these systems has been blocked as of today. This affects the work of a portion of the employees."
The ministry added that the cyberattack did not impact systems used to manage tax collection, import/export regulations, and income-linked subsidies, which handle over 9.5 million tax returns annually for income tax alone.
"Services to citizens and businesses provided by the Tax and Customs Administration, Customs, and Benefits have not been affected. We will update this message when we can share more information."
Although the ministry said the breach affected some of its employees, it didn't disclose how many were affected or whether the attackers stole any sensitive data. Also, no cybercrime group or threat actors have taken responsibility for the attack.
A Ministry of Finance spokesperson told BleepingComputer they couldn't provide more information due to the ongoing investigation when we reached out with additional questions about the incident, including the total number of affected employees and how long the attackers had access to the compromised systems.
In September 2024, the Dutch national police (Politie) was also breached in a cyberattack believed to be orchestrated by a "state actor" that stole work-related contact details of multiple police officers.
More recently, in February, Dutch authorities arrested a 40-year-old man for an extortion attempt after he downloaded confidential documents mistakenly shared by the police and refused to delete them unless he received "something in return."
Update March 24, 10:03 EDT: Added statement from Dutch Ministry of Finance.

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Breach
Cyberattack
Europe
Hack
Ministry of Finance
Netherlands
Security Breach

Sergiu Gatlan
Sergiu is a news reporter who has covered the latest cybersecurity and technology developments for over a decade. Email or Twitter DMs for tips.

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The Dutch Ministry of Finance has confirmed a cybersecurity breach impacting a portion of its employees, detected on March 19, 2026. The incident, currently under investigation, involved unauthorized access to systems within the policy department. Following the initial alert, immediate action was taken to block access to these compromised systems. While the breach did not affect systems handling critical functions such as tax collection, import/export regulations, or income-linked subsidies — which process over 9.5 million tax returns annually — it did impact the work of a segment of employees. The Ministry of Finance has not disclosed the exact number of affected personnel nor has it revealed whether sensitive data was exfiltrated by the attackers. Currently, no cybercriminal group or threat actor has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the incident, BleepingComputer reporters were unable to obtain further details due to the ongoing investigation, specifically concerning the precise number of employees affected and the duration of the attackers' access. This incident follows a similar breach in September 2024, where the Dutch national police (Politie) was targeted by a state-sponsored cyberattack resulting in the theft of contact details for multiple officers. More recently, in February, Dutch authorities apprehended a 40-year-old man who exploited mistakenly shared documents from the police, demanding payment for their return. The investigation highlights the increasing threat landscape faced by government institutions and the potential ramifications of data breaches. The Ministry of Finance has stated they will continue to update citizens and businesses as more information becomes available, emphasizing that services provided by the Tax and Customs Administration, Customs, and Benefits have remained unaffected.