VASC0 subsidiary in Netherlands declared bankrupt

OAKBROOK TERRACE — DigiNotar BV, the Internet-safety company that was attacked by hackers, causing the Netherlands government to warn that parts of the country’s online traffic were no longer safe, was declared bankrupt by the Haarlem district court.

DigiNotar was acquired by VASCO Data Security International in January for $12.9 million. VASCO said in a filing today it expects significant losses associated with DigiNotar.

The government said Sept. 3 it no longer trusted safety certificates issued by DigiNotar, after hackers issued fraudulent ones, targeting websites from the government and companies such as Facebook Inc. and Google Inc.

Opta, the Dutch telecommunications regulator, ended the registration of the company after it concluded the reliability of the safety certificates could no longer be guaranteed, it said on Sept. 14.

Other providers such as Royal KPN NV gained orders for their competing website safety certificates following DigiNotar’s difficulties. DigiNotar, based in Beverwijk, a town near Amsterdam, found evidence on July 28 that rogue certificates were verified by Internet addresses from Iran, according to a report from Web-security company Fox-It.

So far, no one has been arrested in the case, Wim de Bruin, a spokesman for the Dutch public prosecutor, said by phone.

The Dutch public prosecutor has also started a probe into Diginotar, De Bruin said.