A massive data breach hit 16 million email users in Germany last month, affecting all German ministers and 17 Bundestag members.

BELGIUM, BENELUX, BENELUX, February 14, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ — Germany is a country of strong IT infrastructure, where the internet has become the foundation of solid communications and e-commerce. The German government has even created the term “e-Government”, to describe how public administration services and processes available to citizens are improved and optimised. One would think that, in such a technologically adept country, cyber risks are reduced to none. Yet, Germany is still classed as the third country in the world to be targeted by cybercriminals.

A massive data breach hit 16 million email users in Germany last month, affecting all German ministers and 17 Bundestag members. Email addresses and passwords, and more than 600 government email login details were lost. The attack was most likely carried out by a team of professional hackers through a botnet which took over several months to collect the data without the account holders even noticing. Then, in September 2013, two million customer data records were stolen from Vodafone Germany: full names, addresses and bank account details were all stolen from the company’s internal network. 

These attacks are surprising, considering the fact that Germany is focused on improving its online security framework and has such strict data protection policies. The country even has a Federal Office for Information security (BSI) to protect German government agencies from cybercrime which also helps promote IT security in Germany within the public and private sectors. 

IT Governance EU, the global leader in information security and ISO27001 products and services, cautions how easy it is for personal data to be breached if a robust Information Security Management System (ISMS) is not in place. ISO27001 sets out best practice for the implementation of an organisation’s ISMS to reduce cyber risks. The Case for ISO 27001 (2013) Second Edition helps an organisation to fight cybercrime, improve corporate governance and prevent risks. IT Governance also suggests downloading the free Information Security and ISO27001 Green Paper, which will increase information security knowledge for organisations that want to avoid cyber attacks. 

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