14 DAY TRIAL // In what seems to be a continuation of the row between the Netherlands and Turkey, the Dutch parliament's website was hit by a ransomware attack on Tuesday.
According to local publication NL Times, hackers targeted the lower house of the parliament, the Tweede Kamer. Hackers managed to encrypt some files before being stopped.
While the parliament spokesperson decided to not reveal anything about the attack, a Dutch parliamentarian tweeted about ransomware hitting the government computer system.
"ICT system Lower House hit by ransomware. Very annoying but hopefully there will finally be more awareness," tweeted Kees Verhoeven.
An internal email sent to parliament members informed people that ransomware was found in the system and was in the process of encrypting files before being stopped. The situation was rectified before IT specialists began the process of replacing the encrypted files.
A European feud
This isn't the first time that Dutch websites are being targeted. In fact, just a couple of weeks back, two websites used by Dutch voters to help them decide which party to vote for were attacked on election day. A local Internet security firm reviewed the attacks and said it believed they were conducted by Turkish hacking groups.
Another attack was performed against Dutch analytics firm Twitter Counter. Via this link to countless Twitter accounts, numerous people got their accounts hijacked and messages in support of Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan were posted, some featuring swastikas as the Dutch government was accused of being "Nazi remnants."
The messages went on to reference the April 16 Turkish referendum that could offer Erdogan increased powers and another decade as President of the country.
The incident was sparked by the government in The Netherlands banning two Turkish officials from speaking to expats during a local rally.