Dutch certificate authority denies significant breach

Internal documents pilfered from vulnerable web database.
Dutch telco KPN has denied digital certificates were lost after its subsidiary Gemnet was hacked.

MacWorld Netherlands reported today that government public key infrastructure (PKI) certificates may have been exposed after Gemnet's website was hacked and internal documents were compromised.

But while Gemnet admitted to the breach, it was quick to deny that certificates were exposed.

Earlier last month Gemnet, a services company for Dutch local municipal governments, said it had stopped the issuance of certificates as a preliminary caution. Days later, it resumed normal operations.

In a translated statement the company said that the "hack of the site has no connection with the issuance and management of government PKI certificates".

Breached Gemnet internal documents appeared to have resided on a web database managed by PHPMyAdmin that did not have an access password set.

Gemnet has taken down its home page and is investigating the incident.