Due to an error in the system of a supplier of Zuyderland, private data of an unknown number of (former) employees have been accessed by unauthorized persons. These are staff members who are or were employed by Zuyderland Thuiszorg and Zuyderland Thuishulp. They have since been informed of the data breach by letter.
According to Zuyderland, the data breach could have occurred because a supplier did not process personal data properly. An error allowed unauthorized individuals to view employees' personal data for a year. This was determined during an audit recently conducted.
It concerns only data of current or former employees of Zuyderland Thuiszorg and Zuyderland Thuishulp, the health care authority announced. And no client data have become public. Victims were informed of the incident by letter on Wednesday. The letter, which was viewed by L1 News, states that names, addresses, places of residence, e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, BSN numbers, bank account numbers, passwords, job scales and the dates that employees started working were visible.
"The cause of the problem has since been eliminated," Zuyderland announced. A spokesman could not say how many employees were affected by the data breach.
In the letter, the agency apologizes for the events and any concerns this incident may have caused. "We assure you that there has been a thorough investigation into the occurrence of this data breach and that the necessary measures have been taken by the supplier, as a result of which the data is no longer visible," the letter received by data subjects reads. Zuyderland has also filed a notification with the Personal Data Authority.
Employees are also advised to take precautions. Zuyderland advises them to change their passwords, especially if they use the same password for other online services. In addition, victims should be alert to strange phone calls and suspicious messages asking them to confirm or pass on personal information. This type of scam is also known as phishing.
Finally, those involved would do well to also warn people in their immediate circle about possible scams.
