A major data breach in Denmark has exposed the personal information of approximately 8.8 million people, with a hacker claiming to have accessed the country’s national population database using the simple password “123456.”
The breach involved Denmark’s Central Register of Persons (CPR), which stores personal information, including names, addresses, and identification numbers.
According to Danish newspaper Politiken, the hacker allegedly gained access through an account belonging to Pays ApS, a private IT company authorized to use the national database to verify customer information for businesses.
The newspaper reported that at least three accounts at the company, including an administrator account, used the same password. Pays ApS Managing Director Sophie Laursen confirmed on October 9 that the company’s access to the database had been misused.
According to documents obtained by Danish broadcaster TV 2, the attacker carried out around 14 million automated searches between September 10 and September 20.
The breach was discovered on October 2 after a government employee noticed an invoice showing unusually high activity linked to the company.
Danish authorities confirmed the incident on October 5, saying the affected information belonged to around 8.8 million people. The national database contains approximately 11 million records, including those of deceased individuals and people who have moved abroad.
The person claiming responsibility for the attack told Politiken that they had no plans to sell or release the stolen information. However, authorities have not confirmed the claims about the password used in the breach.
The Danish Data Protection Agency was notified on October 4, a day before the government publicly disclosed the incident.
Authorities have since blocked the company’s access to the database, while police are investigating the breach.
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