Ransomware attacks in the Netherlands

Ransomware remains one of the most disruptive cyber threats facing Dutch organisations. From municipalities to logistics providers, attackers continue to find soft targets across the country.

Who is being hit

In the Netherlands, ransomware affects a broad mix of victims: small and medium businesses, healthcare providers, transport and logistics, and the occasional municipality. Attackers tend to focus on organisations with under-invested IT and time-sensitive operations, where downtime creates pressure to pay.

Common entry points

• Phishing emails with malicious attachments or links.
• Exposed remote access services (RDP, VPN) without multi-factor authentication.
• Unpatched edge devices such as firewalls and file-transfer appliances.
• Compromised credentials bought from initial access brokers.

Practical steps for Dutch organisations

• Enable multi-factor authentication on every external login, without exception.
• Keep tested, offline backups and verify restores at least quarterly.
• Patch internet-facing systems quickly and retire what is no longer supported.
• Have an incident response plan and know who to call before an incident happens.