Security incident

One of the organizations we collaborate with recently experienced an information security incident. Phishing emails were sent from this organization to several contacts, including employees of Neighborhood Teams Utrecht. We are currently investigating the exact impact and whether any data may have been accessed. We also want to warn you that fake emails (phishing scams) are currently circulating that appear to originate from organizations we collaborate with.

We are investigating an information security incident
We believe it's important to be open and clear about what happened. That's why we're keeping you informed while the investigation is ongoing.

What happened?
An information security incident has occurred at an organization we work with, Axilius Bewindvoering. Phishing emails were sent from this organization to various contacts, including employees of the Neighborhood Social Team. These employees support residents aged 18 and over without children (living at home). The security incident explicitly does not affect clients of the Neighborhood Youth & Family Team.

We are currently investigating whether information exchanged with employees via email may have been accessed during the incident. The precise impact is not yet known. As soon as we have more clarity, we will update the information on this page.

Why are we informing you?
There are currently fake emails (phishing) circulating that appear to be from organizations we collaborate with. Because it's possible that contact information is being misused to contact residents through this incident, we're informing you so you can be extra vigilant.

What data could potentially be involved?
We are currently investigating what data may be involved. Email exchanges may contain various types of data, such as:

• your name
• telephone number and/or email address
• messages between you and your neighborhood team member
• information about support, appointments or questions
• documents or attachments that you or other organizations have sent to us

We don't yet know whether this data has actually been accessed. When we do, we will update this information.

What does this mean for you?
We have no indication that your data has been misused. However, we ask that you be cautious with unexpected messages, as criminals sometimes try to exploit these situations.

What should you pay attention to?
In the coming period, please pay attention to the following:

• Don't click on links in messages you don't expect;
• Do not open attachments that you do not trust;
• Delete suspicious or strange-looking emails;
• Never give out your password, PIN code or personal information;
• When in doubt, always call the official number of an organization yourself; never use the number in a suspicious email.

What measures have we taken?
We took immediate action to stop the incident and conduct further investigation:

• The systems and mailboxes involved have been additionally checked and re-secured;
• employee passwords have been changed;
• laptops and accounts have been checked;
• the fake email and suspicious links have been blocked;
• we are working with security specialists to investigate exactly what happened;
• We have reported the incident to the Dutch Data Protection Authority (AP).
  We are taking additional measures to prevent recurrence.

This page will be updated as new information becomes available.