Europol security breach: personnel files found in public place After US bridge collapse: 2 dead recovered from water

According to media reports, personnel files of high-ranking Europol employees have been found in a public place in The Hague. A spokeswoman for the EU police authority confirmed the incident on Thursday.

In the summer of 2023, some personnel files disappeared from the head office in The Hague. “Operational data on Europol’s main activities has never been affected,” the statement says. According to reports from a Dutch radio station, a citizen from The Hague found the documents and handed them over to the local police.

The news platform Politico initially reported on the incident based on an internal email and conversations with employees. Then it would also have to concern personnel documents of Europol boss Catherine De Bolle. According to the report, they were stored in a safe in a specially secured room at the authority. ‘Few people know the code to the safe’ Politico quoted an employee.

Europol has not commented on this information. No further details were provided about the ongoing investigation. Europol takes the incident “extremely seriously”. An internal investigation was immediately launched. (saw/sda/dpa)