Swedish Minister for Home Affairs Anders Ygeman gives an interview after resigning his position | Ari Luostarinen/AFP via Getty Images Swedish ministers resign amid data security breach scandal Citizens’ sensitive personal information may have been leaked.

Two senior Swedish ministers resigned on Thursday as the country's government tried to limit the political fallout from a security breach that may have led to large-scale disclosure of citizens' sensitive personal information.

Sensitive data was potentially leaked to contractors in Romania and the Czech Republic, among other Eastern European countries, who were employed to work on a project outsourced to IBM Sweden. The data breach — one of the largest in the country's history — included the potential disclosure of Swedish driving license records and classified information such as data on military vehicles.

While the extent of the leak remains unclear, it comes as governments worldwide are facing an increase in cybersecurity threats from groups of hackers, as well as those sponsored by other countries' intelligence agencies. There has been a raft of recent attacks around the globe as cyberattackers have targeted the British health system, Ukrainian banks and government agencies, as well as individuals from the United States to France.

The most recent leak in Sweden is not connected to such activities. But the accidental disclosure of masses of sensitive information on Swedish citizens, experts warn, highlights how policymakers often fail to implement the most basic protections to ensure citizens' digital data is kept safe.

“I have to take responsibility for the country. It wouldn’t serve Sweden to throw the country into a political crisis" — Prime Minister Stefan Löfven

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Löfven said that Anders Ygeman, the country's home affairs minister, and Anna Johansson, the infrastructure minister, had both resigned because of the scandal. The prime minister refused to call an early election, despite demands from opposition political parties.

“I have to take responsibility for the country," he said on Thursday. "It wouldn’t serve Sweden to throw the country into a political crisis."

The country's center-left government has been engulfed in crisis in recent days over a data security breach at the Swedish Transport Agency.

The resignations of two of the country's ministers shows how issues concerning individuals' privacy are quickly becoming hot-button topics in an ever-more connected world.

"There are national security and personal privacy implications to this data breach," said Simone Fischer-Hübner, a privacy and security professor at Karlstad University in Sweden. "There's been a lot of bad practices."

The controversy in Sweden dates back to 2015, when the country's transport agency outsourced its IT operations to IBM Sweden. Revelations about how the sensitive data was sent overseas and may have been illegally accessed by contractors was first made public earlier this month after local media reports claimed that Maria Ågren, the Swedish Transport Agency's director general, was fired and fined by the country's authorities in January for the mishandling of classified material.

The Swedish government said the damage from the data breach may have been limited, though Prime Minister Löfven confirmed that he was first informed about the incident in early 2017.

Earlier this week, Löfven, who is the leader of the Social Democratic Party, said the breach was “a mess” and had “exposed both Sweden and the Swedes to risks.”

Nevertheless, Jonas Bjelfvenstam, the current director general of the Swedish Transport Agency, said there were “no indications that data was disseminated improperly."

IBM said that it took "data privacy very seriously," but would not comment further on the depth of the data breach.

While two Swedish ministers have resigned over the scandal, a third — Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist — will remain in his post, despite opposition demands for his removal.

Sweden's opposition political parties have already called for a vote of no-confidence to unseat the government ministers caught up in the scandal.

“The first question I would ask is whether the Swedish Transport Agency, by outsourcing some work to what I presume are IT body shops in Serbia and the Czech Republic, simply granted those folks open access to its network," said Rik Turner an infrastructure analyst at Ovum, the technology research company. "If that is the case, then this was just plain stupidity."

Laurens Cerulus and Christian Krug contributed to this report.</s>The security breach occurred in March 2015, when the Swedish Transport Agency outsourced the handling of its IT system to IBM, whose staff in Eastern Europe oversaw the operation.

According to Expressen, sensitive information including the entire registry of Swedish drivers' licenses and data on protected identities was accessible to people who had not been vetted by the Swedish security service. The Prime Minister was not made aware of the breach until January 2017.

The Transport Agency said its former director-general, Maria Ågren, had approved the outsourcing contract even though it breached security and privacy laws. Ågren has since been fired and fined 70,000 krona (about $8,500).

"We have no indications pointing at that data was disseminated improperly, so we do not see any direct cause for concern," the Transport Agency said on its website.

According to Expressen, Ågren's line of defense at an official hearing in March was that the "departure from current legislation," which she approved, was acceptable and that such decisions "had been made before and that it was part of a process you could apply when needed." She also contended that she had not been sufficiently briefed on the security aspects of the role and had done her best under those conditions. An alliance of opposition parties called this week for a vote of no confidence, targeting three government ministers affected by the scandal, to be held in 10 days' time. Two of them, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson, have now resigned, Expressen said. However, Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist remains in his post and is still under threat from the no-confidence motion.</s>STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - A brewing political scandal in Sweden intensified on Wednesday when center-right opposition parties said they would call for a no confidence vote in three government ministers, a vote they may win.

The opposition is seeking to boot out the ministers of infrastructure, defense and the interior -- Anna Johansson, Peter Hultqvist and Anders Ygeman, respectively -- for their role in outsourcing IT-services for the Swedish Transport Agency in 2015.

The minority government has said that contract process -- won by IBM Sweden -- was speeded up, bypassing some laws and internal procedures in a manner that may have led to people abroad, handling servers with sensitive materials.

Prime Minister Stefan Lofven said on Monday his country and its citizens were exposed to risks by potential leaks as a result of the contract.

The center right opposition Alliance, comprising the Moderate, Centre, Liberal and Christian Democrat parties, has taken aim at the three ministers.

"It is obvious (they) have neglected their responsibility. They have not taken action to protect Sweden's safety", Centre party leader Annie Loof told a news conference.

The government said it had no comment pending a later statement. IBM Sweden says it never comments on relations with clients.

Parliament is in recess but the opposition parties will submit a request to the speaker to summon legislators for a vote within 10 days.

If the opposition gets a majority the ministers will have to resign, a likely outcome as the nationalist Sweden Democrats have said they will support a vote of no-confidence.

"It feels like it's possible, yes," Anna Kinberg Batra, leader of the Moderates said.

The Transport Agency said on Monday it had no indications sensitive material had actually ended up in the wrong hands, but Lofven said the government had initiated an investigation into what had happened, vowing to tighten laws for handling of sensitive material.

The security police informed the Justice Ministry in late 2015 on the issue, but Lofven only found out about it early this year.

He said on Monday that Johansson, the infrastructure minister responsible for the Transport Agency, had not passed information on to him. Johansson on Sunday in turn blamed one of her former state secretaries for not informing her about the issue.</s>Senior Swedish ministers were quizzed by parliamentary committees on Tuesday as the government battled to contain the fallout after a massive leak of confidential information.

The leak stems from the Transport Agency's hiring of IBM in 2015 to take over its IT operations.

IBM in turn used subcontractors in several Eastern European countries – making sensitive information as well as an entire database on Swedish drivers' licences accessible by foreign technicians who had not gone through the usual security clearance checks.

Although it is not known if it caused any harm, it is one of the largest breaches of government information in Sweden in decades, which may threaten the Social Democrat-led coalition as opposition parties have said they could put the issue to a confidence vote, and on Tuesday ministers were grilled by parliament.

Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist told a defence committee he had been told in March 2016 that Swedish security police Säpo were investigating Transportstyrelsen. "I got the picture that there were problems linked to outsourcing at Transportstyrelsen, that the security police and Armed Forces were in contact and that the Armed Forces were acting on it," Hultqvist was quoted by the TT news agency as telling Swedish MPs.
• Read more about Transportstyrelsen here

Transportstyrelsen's director general Maria Ågren, who agreed to bypass laws to speed up the outsourcing, was fired in January for undisclosed reasons at the time, but has since confessed to violating data handling and accepted a fine of 70,000 kronor (around $8,000), according to media reports earlier this month.

The decision to outsource Transportstyrelsen's IT maintenance was made a few years earlier with the former centre-right government at the helm, but the now-ruling centre-left coalition has been criticized for how it has handled the news once it emerged and how it has been communicated between ministers and to the public.

Opposition politicians on the parliamentary defence and justice committees on Tuesday honed in on reports that Hultqvist and Interior Minister Anders Ygeman knew about the suspicions in early 2016, but Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven were not informed until January this year.

Löfven has fended off criticism of poor communication between ministries, saying on Monday that it had been Johansson's job as infrastructure minister to inform him of Transportstyrelsen business, but that she had not been able to do so as she had not had that information herself, an explanation the opposition did not buy.

"(The fact) that a responsible minister didn't know what happened within her own field provides no confidence at all," Left Party leader Jonas Sjöstedt told TT on Monday.

Liberal Party MP Allan Widman, chairman of the parliamentary defence committee, said on Tuesday after the interrogation of Hultqvist that the government had shown shortcomings in how it handled the information.

"This is a serious flaw that has been exposed in this government. It does not work together, but everyone works in their own field and not together," he told TT.

Ygeman said he had informed the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation (of which the Infrastructure Minister is part) when he was told by Säpo in 2016. Johansson has previously said her state secretary at the time failed to pass the information on to her. Ygeman added it had not been necessary to inform the Prime Minister at that point.

"This is not information you can talk about on the fika break or in the fika room; you have to be in special rooms to relay this kind of information. Information has been distributed to relevant ministries via the channels available to spread information between departments," he told the Aftonbladet tabloid on Tuesday.

Löfven was to meet all party leaders on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the incident.</s>The Swedish government is holding an emergency meeting after the opposition Alliance coalition announced it plans a motion of no confidence against three ministers following the transport data leak that made top secret police databases available to foreign IT workers.

At a snap press conference on Wednesday morning, the leaders of the four parties in the coalition announced plans for a no-confidence motion against Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson.

"Several ministers have neglected their responsibilities. That must have consequences, here and now," Centre Party leader Annie Lööf said.

The massive leak of confidential information stems from the Swedish Transport Agency’s hiring of IBM in 2015 to take over its IT operations. IBM used subcontractors abroad, making sensitive information and an entire database of Swedish drivers’ licences accessible by foreign technicians who did not have the usual security clearance.

Though it is not yet known if it caused any harm, it is one of the largest breaches of government information in Sweden in decades.

When quizzed by parliamentary committees on Tuesday, Defence minister Hultqvist said he had been told in March 2016 that Swedish security police Säpo were investigating Transportstyrelsen.

It has been reported that both he and Interior Minister Ygeman knew about the suspicions in early 2016, but Infrastructure Minister Johansson and Prime Minister Stefan Löfven were only informed in January 2017.

“Peter Hultqvist has responsibility for defence and despite the fact that he, like Anders Ygeman, received information about security shortcomings in 2016 as well as that these security shortcomings were considered to be very serious, Peter Hultqvist refrained from informing the Riksdag, the ministers responsible, and refrained from informing the Prime Minister,” Christian Democrat leader Ebba Busch Thor explained at the Alliance press conference on Wednesday.

“Anna Johansson is responsible for the Transport Agency and despite that she has not had control over the activities they carry out. Where they have actively violated the law and exposed Sweden and Swedes to security risks,” her colleague Lööf noted.

READ ALSO: Cyber security slip-up 'a complete failure' according to PM Löfven

Ygeman said he informed the Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation (of which the Infrastructure Minister is part) when he was told about the issue by Säpo in 2016. Johansson meanwhile said her state secretary at the time failed to pass on information to her.

A vote could take place within the next few weeks, according to Moderate leader Anna Kinberg Batra.

Following the press conference the anti-immigration Sweden Democrats announced that they will support the Alliance motion. The Left Party by contrast said it will not, but leader Jonas Sjöstedt later clarified through Twitter that he wants Johansson to step down.

Sjöstedt also said his party will report the Alliance to the Riksdag's Committee on the Constitution over the decision to outsource the IT system in 2015.

PM Löfven called the Swedish government to an emergency meeting at the Rosenbad offices in central Stockholm on Wednesday afternoon. Government heavyweights like Foreign Minister Margot Wallström were spotted arriving at the building around 15:00.</s>The jobs of Sweden's defence and interior ministers are on the line over a huge leak of sensitive data that has rocked the fragile centre-left government.

Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist and Interior Minister Anders Ygeman face claims that they knew the leak from the national transport agency had made the private data of millions of citizens accessible abroad but had failed to inform Prime Minister Stefan Lofven.

Ahead of a press conference by Lofven at 0830 GMT, Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson was also coming under pressure in the media for her role in the scandal, though she has insisted she found out about the leak only later.

The scandal has blown up in recent weeks after it emerged that an entire database on Swedish drivers' licences was made available to technicians in the Czech Republic and Romania, with media reporting that the identities of intelligence agents may have been jeopardised.

The Swedish military also said information on its personnel, vehicles and defence and contingency planning could have been included in the leak, although the transport agency denied having a register on military vehicles and said there was no indication the data had been "spread in an improper way".

The leak stems from the transport agency's hiring of IBM in 2015 to take over its IT operations.

IBM in turn used subcontractors in the Czech Republic and Romania - making the sensitive information accessible by foreign technicians who did not have security clearance.

Opposition parties on Wednesday signalled they were planning a censure motion to force the ministers out, and they together hold enough votes to do so.

They are not seeking the resignation of Lofven, who has headed a fragile Social Democrat-led coalition since 2014, but political pundits have not ruled out his departure over one of the largest breaches of government information in Sweden in decades.

The transport agency's director general Maria Agren resigned in January for undisclosed reasons, but she has since confessed to violating data handling and accepted a fine of 70,000 Swedish kronor (around 7,000 euros, $8,000).

Hultqvist and Ygeman reportedly found out about the leak last year, but the prime minister was only informed in January.

Johansson, who oversees the transport agency, said her former state secretary had known about the leak but kept the information hidden from her -- triggering heavy criticism among opposition parties who said she should have known what was happening.</s>Two Swedish ministers lost their jobs on Thursday over a huge leak of sensitive data that has rocked the fragile centre-left government.

But Prime Minister Stefan Lofven vowed he would be staying on despite speculation he could call a snap election.

Interior Minister Anders Ygeman, a political heavyweight previously seen as a likely future prime minister, has resigned, Lofven said at a press conference, adding that Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson will also step down.

Ygeman reportedly knew about the leak from the national transport agency, which made the private data of millions of citizens accessible abroad, but failed to tell the prime minister.

The scandal has blown up in recent weeks after it emerged that an entire database on Swedish drivers' licences was made available to technicians in the Czech Republic and Romania, with media reporting that the identities of intelligence agents may have been jeopardised.

Lofven's Social Democrat-led minority government has been badly rattled by one of Sweden's largest data breaches in decades, and opposition parties had threatened the coalition with a vote of no confidence.

Some political commentators had expected Lofven to call an early election at Thursday's press conference -- but he insisted said he intends to serve his full term, which ends in 2018.

"I have no intention of plunging Sweden into a political crisis," he said, pointing to "formidable challenges" the country is facing including tensions in the Baltic region, Brexit as well as the government's plans for social and economic reforms.

"I looked at several alternatives, and I chose the best one for the country," Lofven said.

The data leak stems from the Swedish transport agency's hiring of IBM in 2015 to take over its IT operations.

IBM in turn used subcontractors in the Czech Republic and Romania -- making the sensitive information accessible by foreign technicians who did not have security clearance.

The Swedish military said information on its personnel, vehicles as well as defence and contingency planning could have been included in the leak, although the transport agency denied having a register on military vehicles and said there was no indication the data had been "spread in an improper way".

Swedish Defence Minister Peter Hultqvist kept his job in the reshuffle despite facing claims that, like the interior minister, he knew about the scandal but failed to tell the premier.

However, Hultqvist still faces the threat of being forced out in a censure motion launched by the opposition on Wednesday against all three ministers caught up in the scandal.

"There is no longer any confidence in the defence minister," Ebba Busch Thor, leader of the Christian Democrats, wrote on Twitter.

"The prime minister will not take responsibility, which is why we will hold him to account in parliament."

The far-right Sweden Democrats signalled they would support the censure motion, which would need a parliamentary majority to remove Hultqvist from office.

Maria Agren, head of the transport agency at the centre of the leak, quit in January for undisclosed reasons but has since confessed to violating data handling. She accepted a fine of 70,000 Swedish kronor (around 7,000 euros, $8,000).

Hultqvist and Ygeman reportedly found out about the leak last year, but the prime minister was only informed in January.

Johansson, who oversees the transport agency, said her former state secretary had known about the leak but kept the information hidden from her -- triggering heavy criticism among opposition parties who said she should have known what was happening.</s>HELSINKI (AP) — Sweden’s left-leaning minority government faced a crisis Wednesday after a populist party said it would support four opposition parties in a no-confidence vote against it over one of the largest security breaches in the country.

If passed, the vote would force the ouster of three government ministers and could lead to the resignation of Prime Minister Stefan Lofven’s Cabinet.

Lofven called an emergency Cabinet meeting after the head of the maverick anti-immigrant Sweden Democrats said they would back the right-wing opposition parties in a no-confidence vote, giving them the required majority to oust the ministers.

“There are only two alternatives, either a new election or he himself (Lofven) resigns,” Sweden Democrats leader Jimmie Akesson said.

Leaders of the opposition parties, known as the Alliance, announced their plan earlier Wednesday following reports last week that a 2015 leak allowed IT workers abroad to access confidential information in Sweden’s government and police database. The security breach allegedly came about when the Transport Agency outsourced some of its services to IBM in the Czech Republic.

The three government ministers are blamed for incompetence and delaying the release of information. Lofven, who described the leak as a disaster that put Sweden and Swedes in harm’s way, said he first heard about it in January — some 18 months after the leak occurred.

Officials say they do not know if the leak caused any tangible damage. The head of the Transport Agency was fired in January for negligence and waiving security clearance requirements for some foreign IT workers, Swedish reports said.

It was not immediately clear when the no-confidence vote would take place.

Lofven’s Social Democrats and the Green Party form the ruling minority coalition government with 138 seats in the 349-member Parliament. With the support of the Sweden Democrats, the Alliance would be able oust the ministers with 187 votes — well over the required 175 majority.

The vote of no-confidence motion targets Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist, Interior Minister Anders Ygeman and Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson, who knew about the leak earlier than the prime minister but failed to inform him.</s>Sweden's right-wing opposition parties say they are planning a motion of no confidence in three government ministers over a security leak which could result in major changes in the minority government.

They announced the move Wednesday, following last week's reports of a 2015 leak that allowed IT workers abroad to access confidential information in Swedish government and police databases when the Transport Agency outsourced some of its services to IBM in the Czech Republic.

Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven, who described the leak a disaster, said he first heard about it in January, some 18 months after it occurred.

It was not immediately clear when the four parties will table the motion.

The Social Democrats and the Greens form the ruling minority coalition.</s>STOCKHOLM
• Two Swedish ministers lost their jobs yesterday over a huge leak of sensitive data that has rocked the fragile centre-left government.

But Prime Minister Stefan Lofven vowed he would stay on despite speculation he could call a snap election. Interior Minister Anders Ygeman has resigned, Mr Lofven said, adding that Infrastructure Minister Anna Johansson will also step down.

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Anna Johansson and Anders Ygeman resign in the wake of controversy surrounding a 2015 data leak of the Swedish Transport Agency.