What Every Organization Can Learn from the Data Breach at the Municipality of Epe
First and foremost, the municipality of Epe deserves credit for the openness with which it shared details of this incident. It takes courage to be so transparent about what went wrong. Doing so leaves them vulnerable, but that is precisely what helps other organizations learn and improve. This kind of transparency is rare and incredibly valuable.
If you read the reports carefully, you'll notice something striking. This isn't a story about a highly sophisticated, unknown attack. Rather, it's an incident in which well-known techniques were successfully employed. That might make it even more relevant. Because this could happen anywhere.
Behind-the-scenes security tools
Various security solutions were in place within the municipality. Yet the attack was not detected in time. This shows that having the right tools is not the same as actually being protected. Detection only began when a simple network scanner was used. This means that earlier signals were either missed or not taken seriously. For many organizations, that is where the real challenge lies—not in the lack of tools, but in the effectiveness of implementation and follow-up.
Data as a Risk
The scale of the data breach is significant. Nearly a thousand passports and hundreds of terabytes of data. This raises an important question: Why is that amount of data available, and is it all still necessary? Many organizations store more data than is necessary. Whether out of convenience or because data cleanup isn’t prioritized. But the more data you have, the greater the impact of an incident. In this case, less data also means less risk.
Exfiltration
One of the most startling revelations is that enormous amounts of data were exported in a short period of time without setting off any alarms.
Many organizations focus their monitoring primarily on known threats, rather than on unusual behavior. Yet it is precisely extreme data flows or activity at unusual times that are clear signs that something is going wrong. The question that lingers is simple: Would your organization notice this happening?
Logging is important
Here, too, you can see that logging was inadequate. Limited retention periods and a lack of detail mean that, during an incident, you quickly find yourself playing catch-up.
Logging isn't just a technical nicety. It's essential for understanding what's happening in your environment. Without good logs, you can't analyze, respond, or improve.
Well-known techniques
The attack utilized techniques that have been known for years. These include executing scripts, disabling security measures, suspicious login attempts, and unusual network activity. These are not exceptions. These are patterns that occur on a daily basis. That is precisely why it is so important not to rely solely on standard detection, but to actively monitor behavior and anomalies.
Processes Under Pressure
In addition to the technology, we see that processes also come under pressure during an incident. Agreements with suppliers did not always prove to be clear or practically feasible.
On paper, everything may look fine. Only in practice will we see if it works. And a crisis is not the time to find that out for the first time.
Practice Makes the Difference
What this case study makes particularly clear is that preparation is essential—not only from a technical standpoint, but also from an organizational one.
By testing and practicing regularly, you gain insight into where things aren’t going well yet. It doesn’t have to be complicated. Think of controlled simulations in which you observe how systems respond and how people act.
It's similar to an evacuation drill. No one looks forward to it, but everyone understands why it's necessary.
What can you take away from this right away
There are a number of lessons that every organization can apply:
- Limit the use of tools that make it easy to run code
- Ensure that logging is complete and available over the long term
- Implement measures such as detection or prevention of known attack techniques
- Automate data cleanup and keep only what's necessary
- Test your organization's response to an attack from time to time
- Make sure that agreements and processes actually work in practice
In conclusion
The situation in the municipality of Epe shows that it is not always about new threats. Often, it is about known risks that are not given enough attention in day-to-day practice. The transparency of this case helps bring that into sharp focus.
Perhaps the most important conclusion is that cybersecurity is not a one-time event. It is not a project that you complete once the tools have been implemented. It is an ongoing process that requires attention, discipline, and critical self-reflection.
Want to prevent your organization from ending up in the same situation as the Municipality of Epe?
Perhaps you've read about issues that need to be addressed in your organization as well. We can provide excellent assistance with that.