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A Dutch man was arrested in late November 2022 after Austrian investigators traced the seller of a dataset linked to Austria’s television and radio licence-fee collector, Gebühren Info Service GmbH (GIS). Reuters reported that the dataset contained close to nine million records with names, addresses and dates of birth—near Austria’s population of roughly 9.1 million. That scale supports describing the incident as affecting virtually the entire population, but it does not prove that every resident had a unique, complete record exposed or that the suspect personally hacked a government database.
What was reportedly in the Austrian dataset?
Reuters reported on 25 January 2023 that the dataset offered on a cybercrime forum contained close to nine million datasets associated with GIS. The reported fields were names, addresses and dates of birth. Austria’s population was roughly 9.1 million at the time, which explains the “virtually entire population” description.
A dataset count is not necessarily a count of unique people. The public information described here does not establish whether records were duplicated, incomplete, or matched one-to-one with individual residents. It therefore supports a claim about the dataset’s scale, not a conclusion that the complete identity details of every Austrian were exposed.
How did investigators trace the listing?
The dataset appeared for sale on a cybercrime forum in May 2020. Austrian investigators bought it undercover, then followed financial flows and the data-transfer platform associated with the transaction. The investigation traced an IP address to Amsterdam. The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said a 25-year-old man from Almere was arrested in late November 2022 following the Austrian-led investigation.
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The forum was later taken offline by foreign police and investigative agencies. The information made public does not explain the technical route by which the GIS-linked records were obtained. A listing linked to GIS and an investigation into its seller do not, by themselves, establish how the data left GIS or prove that the suspect directly breached a government system.
What else did Dutch prosecutors allege?
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service said investigators had strong indications that the suspect operated under the forum username and had offered non-public personal data for payment over an extended period. Prosecutors said the alleged material included patient data from medical records. The official notice also described alleged holdings concerning people in the Netherlands, Thailand, Colombia, China and the United Kingdom.
The four suspected offenses named by prosecutors were:
- Possession or supply of non-public personal data.
- Possession of phishing software and hacker tools.
- Computer hacking.
- Habitual money laundering.
The money-laundering allegation involved €450,000 in cryptocurrency transactions during 2022. That figure concerns the alleged transactions; it is not a valuation of the Austrian dataset.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is established—and what remains unproven?
Established in the public account
- A dataset linked to GIS was offered on a cybercrime forum in May 2020.
- Austrian investigators bought the data undercover and traced an IP address to Amsterdam.
- A 25-year-old man from Almere was arrested in late November 2022.
- Reuters reported close to nine million datasets with names, addresses and dates of birth, compared with Austria’s roughly 9.1 million people.
- Dutch prosecutors publicly described suspected data trading and other alleged offenses.
Not established by the available official notices
- The exact technical method by which the GIS-linked data became available.
- That the suspect personally hacked an Austrian government database.
- That all records represented different people or that every Austrian had a complete record in the dataset.
- A final conviction, sentence, or the ultimate disposition of each record.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service announced suspicions and investigative findings, not a final court judgment. Accordingly, the careful description is that the suspect was accused of offering a dataset linked to GIS and trading non-public data—not that a court had established he personally stole a complete national population database.
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