Dutch Court Fines MP for Hacking into Medical Laboratory

Henk Krol, a Dutch Member of Parliament (MP) and the leader of the 50plus political party, has hacked into the systems of the Diagnostics for You medical laboratory in an attempt to prove that the organization was vulnerable. 

Despite the fact that his intentions were good, a court has ordered him to pay a $750 (1,000 EUR) fine because of the way he handled the issue.

According to ITWorld, Krol used a password provided to him by an individual who overheard the information from one of the laboratory’s employees. He logged into the system to demonstrate how easy it was to access and download confidential patient records.

He notified Diagnostics for You about his findings, but he also went to a TV station where he presented the vulnerabilities.

The court ruled that the research was not against the law. However, it argued that Krol should have given the laboratory more time to address the issues before making them public.

In addition, he viewed and printed a large number of files to demonstrate his point, which, in the court’s opinion, was not necessary.