Website and Services Are Back Online

On October 21 and 22, our websites and a number of services were temporarily offline due to a PHP vulnerability. PHP is the programming language used by many websites. To protect our websites and data, our service providers took our websites and services offline as a precaution. Many other municipalities, companies, and organizations did the same.

A new PHP security update has now been installed and tested, which means that almost all websites and services are available again. The time it takes to test and apply the security update varies by product and service. That is why some services are not yet available. A product or service will only be brought back online once we are certain it is secure.

Watch out for fake messages

Scammers often exploit news about outages and vulnerabilities. We have not sent any emails or text messages. If you do receive a message about the outage that includes a link, do not click on it and do not enter any information. If you’re unsure, call the Fraud Help Desk at: 088 786 73 72.
 

What was going on?

There was a vulnerability in PHP, a technology used by many websites. To protect our website and services, our providers took our websites and services offline as a precaution. The providers installed and tested the security update. Afterward, the website and some of its products and services were brought back online.

Why did it take so long?

Our website provider first carefully checked and tested everything. Security is our top priority, which is why it took a little longer for our website to come back online.

Has the municipality been hacked?

No, our suppliers have taken the websites and services offline as a precaution.

Has my personal information been leaked?

At this time, there is no indication that personal data has been leaked or stolen by malicious actors.

I wanted a Make an appointment. Is that available online again?

Yes. You can order a " Make an appointment " online again via this link: .

I'm getting an email or text message about the outage. Is that correct?

We have not sent any emails or text messages. Please be extra careful. Does the message say that your information has been compromised? Or that you need to verify something or reapply for something? If so, do not click on the link and do not enter any information. Report it to the Fraud Help Desk at: 088 786 73 72.

My application or appeal was supposed to have been submitted during the outage. What should I do now?

Send an email to gemeente@voorneaanzee.nl or call us at 14 0181 and let us know which application or appeal you are referring to. We’ll make sure it’s forwarded to the correct department.