Officials raise the Swedish national flag during Sweden's NATO accession ceremony at the North Atlantic Alliance headquarters in Brussels, on March 11, 2024. (Credit: John Thys/AFP.)
The personal data of about 1.5 million people was posted online following a cyberattack on a Swedish IT systems provider, Swedish prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The number of affected individuals represents nearly 15 percent of Sweden’s population, which totals 10.6 million. Local governments were particularly impacted. The attack on the IT systems provider Miljödata took place over the weekend of Aug. 23-24.
"The data stolen in the attack on the IT systems provider has now been leaked. These are data belonging to more than 1.5 million private individuals,” prosecutor Sandra Helgadottir said, adding that an investigation into the data breach is underway.
A group calling itself Datacarry has claimed responsibility for the attack, and the investigation is focused on identifying those responsible, she added. “There is currently no evidence suggesting the involvement of a foreign power,” she said.
According to Swedish media, the hackers demanded 1.5 bitcoin (about 150,000 euros) while threatening to release the data. Miljödata stated over the weekend that the data had been published on the darknet. The leaked data includes names, addresses, and contact details. The Swedish Data Protection Authority said at the end of August it had received 250 reports from affected parties. According to the authority, at least 164 municipalities and four regional authorities were affected by the attack.
The city of Gothenburg, in particular, was hit by the hack, according to public broadcaster SVT. Private companies also saw their data compromised, including truck maker Volvo, airline SAS, and aircraft engine manufacturer GKN Aerospace.
