More than 300 young people in Iceland were sold forged electronic credentials, according to a report first published by mbl.is. The case is raising serious questions about youth access to fraudulent digital documents and the security of sensitive data on personal devices.
Purchasing these forged electronic credentials could allow unknown parties to access sensitive information on the buyers’ mobile phones, mbl.is reported. It is not yet known whether any specific data breaches or misuse of sensitive information have occurred.
The forged credentials were reportedly used to bypass age verification measures, including those on island.is, the official digital services portal of the Icelandic government. Last week, the Reykjavík Metropolitan Police issued a notice cautioning that island.is should not be blindly trusted for confirming a person’s age, as reported by Vísir.
Birna Íris Jónsdóttir commented on the situation, saying, “Unfortunate when this happens and island.is is hit.” Agnes Ósk Marzellíusardóttir added, “This is just grave.” Both quotes were reported by Vísir and mbl.is, respectively; the original statements were in Icelandic and have been translated for this report.
It is not yet clear how many young individuals have completed purchases, who may have been responsible for distributing the forged credentials, or whether active law enforcement investigations or charges are underway related to the sale. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether any misuse of accessed phone information has been documented.
Background
The Reykjavík Metropolitan Police is responsible for law enforcement in the Capital Region of Iceland and is the largest of nine districts under the national Icelandic Police, which operates throughout the country. Iceland’s national police services have been administered by the Office of the National Commissioner of the Police since 1972.
Sources
- RÚV (first reported) in Icelandic
- Vísir in Icelandic
- mbl.is in Icelandic
