An anonymous person claims to have procured the user names, passwords and email addresses of those using the netcar.fi site. The individual also claimed to be a member of the Anonymous group that said it was responsible for other recent data leaks.
Finland’s communications authority, Ficora, says the leaked data looks genuine. Officials said they consider the current spate of leaks as unfortunate.
Data protection expert Mikko Hyppönen from computer security firm F-Secure believes the site concerned was managed insecurely. As many people use the same password on numerous websites, he advises anyone affected to immediately change any compromised password.
Police add case to ongoing investigation
The National Bureau of Investigation is examining the latest leak along with similar previous incidents.
Earlier this month, news came to light that more than 16,000 Finns' data were leaked on a file-sharing website. Social security numbers, home addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses were among the data posted online.
A previous leak included names of some Finnish Defence Forces staff. Other victims included about ten adult education organisations. So far, two groups have said their membership lists were involved in these incidents: Suomen Opiskelija-Allianssi OSKU (the Finnish Student Alliance) and Työtehoseura (TTS), a research, development and training institute.