The intelligence service AIVD holds a new and previously unknown Russian hacker group responsible for the major hack on the police in September 2024. In that hack, “work-related contact information” of all police employees was stolen, such as names, email addresses, and phone numbers.
Immediately after the discovery of the hack, intelligence services expressed the suspicion that another country was responsible. Minister David van Weel (Justice and Security) already reported in November that he knew which country was behind the hack, but did not name that country at the time.
Now it appears that Russia is being held responsible for the hack. The services are calling the hacker group involved Laundry Bear. According to the Ministry of Defense, the cyber attacks against Dutch authorities are part of a larger international cyber threat from the hacker group.
The AIVD’s investigation shows that Laundry Bear is responsible for cyber operations targeting Western governments and other institutions. They are specifically interested in armed forces, governments, defense (sub)suppliers, social organizations, IT service providers, and digital service providers.
Furthermore, according to the AIVD, Laundry Bear has carried out cyber espionage attacks against companies that produce high-quality technologies. Due to current Western sanctions, it is difficult for Russia to obtain these technologies.