Data breaches affect hundreds of thousands of people in Belgium

At least 47 companies and institutions in Belgium have been affected by data breaches since the beginning of 2026, according to an investigation published on Saturday by Belgian newspaper L'Echo.

The findings were based on dark web monitoring conducted by L'Echo in cooperation with cybersecurity firm Fox&Fish Cyberdefense and were confirmed by the Belgian Centre for Cybersecurity.

Municipal authorities, hospitals, travel agencies and private companies were among the affected organizations, according to the newspaper.

The number of organizations affected in the first months of 2026 has already exceeded the total reported for the whole of last year, according to the investigation.

"With artificial intelligence, the volume of cyberattacks and data leaks will multiply in the coming months," Mathias Vissers, co-founder of Fox&Fish Cyberdefense, told L'Echo.

"We must prepare for the shock," he warned.

The leaked information, which can subsequently be purchased on the dark web for just a few hundred euros, includes names, dates of birth, bank account numbers, telephone numbers and home addresses.

In some cases, more personal material, including family photographs, has also been exposed, according to the report.

It said cybercriminals can combine such information with data obtained from other sources to build detailed profiles of potential victims, making it easier to gain their trust and carry out fraud, particularly through phishing attacks.