Swedish PM: 2015 Security Leak Made Citizens Vulnerable

Swedish PM: 2015 Security Leak Made Citizens Vulnerable

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said the lead was a “disaster” and it exposed the nation to harm.

  • Jul 27, 2017

A 2015 security breach is causing friction two years after it happened with the Prime Minister calling the leak a “disaster” that made all citizens vulnerable.

The breach, which was first reported on last week, provided confidential information abroad, allowing IT workers, including the Czech Republic, to access Swedish government and police data bases when the Transportation Agency decided to outsource some of its services.

Although officials gave little details about the leak, it made the country vulnerable to possible future cyberattacks.

"What happened was an accident... it was a complete failure and is very serious," Prime Minister Stefan Lofven told reporters Monday. "It was in breach of the law and exposed Sweden and Swedish citizens to harm."

Lovfen said the data leak was revealed after security police investigated the outsourcing plans. He told reporters that the head of the agency was fired when he heard about the leak in January of this year.

Lovfen could not say exactly what information was involved in the leak or what damage it may have caused, but that it had exposed “Sweden and Swedish citizens to harm.”

The Transport Agency's general director Jonas Bjelfvenstam, who was appointed in January, described the incident as "unacceptable," but said there were no signs that confidential information had been compromised. He said he could not provide more information about the incident.

Also, the head of the military denied Swedish media reports that the leak included a register of Swedish military vehicles.


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