COPENHAGEN, 6th October, 2026 (WAM) -- Denmark has suffered a major data breach after hackers gained access to the country's national population register and the personal information of millions of people.
Denmark's Minister for Science, Higher Education and Digital Affairs Christina Egelund announced the breach on Monday, describing it as a "deeply serious incident" affecting the data of 8.8 million people.
The ministry said in a statement that unauthorised individuals had gained access to names, addresses and CPR numbers, Denmark's personal identification numbers, including information relating to people who have died or emigrated. It added that it was working with all relevant authorities to determine the full extent of the incident.
Denmark has a population of around six million, but the Central Person Register contains information on around 11 million people, including those who have died and those who have moved abroad.
The Danish government said it had no information so far on who was behind the breach, explaining that the hackers gained access to the Central Person Register by misusing a Danish company's legitimate access to the system. The company's access has since been stopped.