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What is a data leak and what is not? There are differences of opinion between the Ministry of Economy and the Neos on this semantic issue. The opposition party, supported by data protection organization Epicenter.Works, had upset that the personal data of a million citizens could be seen publicly about yesterday’s handling of the Corona hardship fund and spoke of the “biggest scandal of data protection in the Second Republic “. At the request of the “Wiener Zeitung”, the Ministry of Economy wanted to know that the cause “was not a data leak or data theft.” However, an “expert level working group” will be created.
One thing is certain: in terms of data protection, the database was not a bank. In the “Supplemental Registration for Other Affected Persons,” which has been open to the public for eleven years, everyone’s name, date of birth, and current address of one million people were available on a website. According to Neos deputy Douglas Hoyos, the main focus is on self-employed workers, who have had additional income in recent years, but apparently not only.
Private addresses were visible for years.
Several people of public interest were found in the database. In addition to Federal President Alexander Van der Bellen, former FP chief Heinz-Christian Strache and other politicians, journalists and various celebrities also appeared. Addresses are also public in phone books, but most are not for people of public interest.
The Neos Hoyos MP also informs the “Wiener Zeitung” about the case of a psychotherapist who is entrusted with particularly sensitive cases and is therefore repeatedly threatened. “Of course, you have a special interest that your address is not public.” According to Hoyos, the record has not been accessible online since Friday night.
The database has been known for years. However, she only achieved her current fame with managing the hardship fund. Because freelancers needed an ID number from the database to apply for help. Numerous citizens discovered that their data could be seen publicly with just a few clicks, Hoyos says.
According to Hoyos, ministerial offices should have known even more about the data: “The fact that the ministries did not respond to this is a scandal.” He sees responsibility in both the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance.
Lack of protection against data merchants?
In addition to the public visibility of the addresses of the interested parties, which in extreme cases can also cause harassment or physical threats, according to experts, public data records represent a second problem: the database did not have the so-called “captcha”, that is, a safeguard that entries were made on the website was made by a human and not a robot. According to data protection experts, data merchants could have automatically collected the records of a million citizens. Rather, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in response to “Wiener Zeitung’s” request that the data had been “sucked in” by technical blackouts since 2017. But what could data merchants do with that data?
“Such data sets are marketed on Darknet and are a gold mine,” says Iwona Laub of data protection organization Epicenter. He works for the “Wiener Zeitung”. In the most harmless case, this data would be used for advertising. Identity theft could also be committed with data intercepted en masse. This is used in many cases to send spam or even malware through social media.
Supports SPÖ and FPÖ Neos Review
SPÖ and FPÖ supported the Neos in their criticism. “If the transaction had been carried out through the financing line, as requested by SPÖ, this scandal would not have occurred,” said SPÖ business spokesman Christoph Matznetter. The coalition promised changes to the Green Party, while the ÖVP attacked the Neos. ÖVP club boss August Wöginger denounced the artificial excitement of the opposition faction and attempts to scandalize.
