The Public Prosecutor’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into the large-scale cyberattack on telecom provider Odido, in which the data of millions of customers was stolen. Although the Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed the investigation, no further details are being shared at this time. Odido itself is also refraining from commenting.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecution Service has told the ANP press agency this. It is striking that the Public Prosecution Service has already announced that it is conducting an investigation. Normally, the Public Prosecution Service is much more cautious in this regard, indicating that it is taking the matter seriously. This may also be related to the size of the data breach, in which millions of customer records are said to have been stolen. If this is true, it is one of the largest successful cyberattacks ever to have occurred in the Netherlands.
A Public Prosecution Service investigation also means that the case will be examined from a criminal law perspective. This could also lead to action being taken against telecom provider Odido, which may have been negligent in protecting data. Finally, the Public Prosecution Service may want to keep a finger in the pie because a hackers’ collective is also demanding a substantial sum of money.
Hacker collective demands ransom for Odido hack data
One of the largest data breaches in the Netherlands
The hack on telecom provider Odido is one of the largest in the Netherlands. Data has been stolen from millions of customers. Odido itself speaks of 6.2 million customer records. However, according to hacker collective ShinyHunters, the data concerns as many as 8 million customers.
An ultimatum has reportedly been issued to Odido, which runs until February 26. If the hacker group has not received a “seven-figure sum” from the provider by that date, the data will be published on the dark web. There is considerable social unrest among Odido customers, comparable in some respects to another major hack in the Netherlands in 2025. This refers to the data breach at Clinical Diagnostics, in which (medical) data was stolen from hundreds of thousands of people.
Odido and Ben customers can now claim a free security package as a gesture of goodwill. This consists of a two-year subscription to the security company F-Secure. This gives customers access to antivirus software, a password manager, and phishing detection, among other things, and alerts them if their personal data has been leaked.