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A cyberattack tapped the data of some 31,000 people in Liechtenstein’s register of people behind companies and foundations in the wealthy principality, the government said.
The “register of economic beneficiaries” was accessed at night from Wednesday into Thursday last week, the government said.
“According to preliminary findings, an unknown perpetrator gained unauthorised digital access to the VwbP (Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) during the night of July 30, 2026,” a government statement said.
It said that the breach was noticed on Thursday, that measures were taken to secure data and the system taken offline.
The government said there were no indications that any data was altered or deleted.
The list of people behind companies, foundations and trusteeships is part of efforts to combat money laundering and terror financing.
Liechtenstein is a nation of 40,000 people between Switzerland and Austria, and the financial industry is central to its economy.
The hackers targeted the Register of Beneficial Owners of Legal Entities, set up in 2021 to help “prevent money laundering and terrorist financing,” said the statement.
A team appointed to investigate the hack has already established that the hackers had managed to steal data “from approximately 31,000 legal entities,” the statement added.
A crisis team led by Prime Minister Brigitte Haas and Justice Minister Emanuel Schadler was set up on Saturday evening to investigate the breach and inform those affected as soon as possible.
Additional sources • AP, AFP