Poland confirms huge personal data breach

A Polish deputy prime minister on Wednesday confirmed a major personal data breach that he said may have affected nearly 19 million people.

Photo:

Marcin Dlawichowski/Polish Radio

Krzysztof Gawkowski, who also serves as digital affairs minister, said about 2 terabytes of personal data related to the medical histories of millions of people in Poland had been leaked.

He said there was no indication that the cyberattack originated abroad.

Cybersecurity services have begun securing the leaked data and transferring it to a government database at bezpiecznedane.gov.pl, state news agency PAP reported.

Gawkowski said people would be able to check the database to determine whether their personal data had been compromised.

Poland has a population of more than 37 million, meaning the breach could potentially affect a substantial proportion of its residents.

The breach targeted MyDr, a company whose services are used by medical practitioners at about 12,000 clinics.

Gawkowski said the mydr.pl website was operating safely again. He advised people whose personal data had been leaked to block their PESEL identification numbers to prevent them from being misused.

He vowed that those responsible for the cyberattack would be identified and prosecuted.

Further details, including when the data will be made available through the government database, will be announced in due course, he said.

(sp/gs)

Source: PAP