The police published this 'official' list because of concerns over possible bogus lists published elsewhere and because so many worried individuals had contacted them, trying to find out if they are on the list.
The NBI's website crashed before it was initially able to post the list on Monday afternoon, with some 60,000 users trying to access it at the same time. Police then distributed the list to various media outlets to publish, and also posted it on the police Facebook page.
The NBI say that anyone whose name and birth date are on the list should contact their local police station for further guidance, as they may be at greater risk for online scams, spam and even attempts at identity theft.
Police have confirmed that some that the names of some Finnish Defence Forces staff are on the list. The FDF found out that fewer than 10 of its employees are included, and has informed these people. The military says the leak did not pose a security threat.
Link to earlier leak?
The NBI has not confirmed claims that a loose group of hackers known as Anonymous was behind the data leak.
YLE's Swedish-language news reports that a Finnish hackers' group was behind the leak, and that the same group also claims to have released a list of applicants to the neo-Nazi organisation the Finnish Resistance Movement a week earlier.
Neither claim has been verified. A data security expert familiar with hackers' groups told YLE that such statements must always be taken with a grain of salt.
Student groups' lists affected
Finland's communications watchdog, Ficora, says that the leaked data may have originated from about 10 adult education organisations. It has not released their names. So far two groups have said their membership lists were involved. They are Suomen Opiskelija-Allianssi OSKU (the Finnish Student Alliance) and Työtehoseura (TTS), a research, development and training institute.