Hackers hit Dutch certificate authority Gemnet

Dutch certificate authority Gemnet has taken its site offline following the discovery of a system breach.

Parent company KPN said that the certificate authority had temporarily suspended its web operations following a breach that allowed outside attackers to access the Gemnet web server.

In an effort to allay fears that the hack might lead to the creation of false certificates, KPN said that no systems related to the certificates themselves had been compromised in the attack and the Dutch PKIoverheid key infrastructure was not in any danger.

The incident follows a server breach at KPN Corporate Market in November that forced the company to temporarily close its site. This was preceded by another data breach at Dutch certificate authority Diginotar in the summer. Fallout from that breach eventually caused Diginotar to file for bankruptcy protection in the Netherlands.

A spokesperson for security firm McAfee told V3 that the latest breach underscores the importance of maintaining proper protections and monitoring of all systems.

"The recent hackings at KPN's Gemnet subsidiary serves as an illustration to the importance of basic security principles, such as utilising best practices and performing thorough penetration testing," the spokesperson said.

"More than ever, it is critical that companies establish proactive security policies in order to prevent attacks."