BBC Online :
Hundreds of German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have had personal details stolen and published online.
Contacts, private chats and financial details were put out on Twitter which belong to figures from every political party except the far-right AfD.
Data from celebrities and journalists were also leaked.
It is unclear who was behind the attack, which emerged on Twitter in the style of an advent calendar last month.
The true extent of damage caused by the leak is not yet known although Justice Minister Katarina Barley said it was a “serious attack”.
“The people behind this want to damage confidence in our democracy and institutions,” she said.
A government spokeswoman said no sensitive data from the chancellor’s office had been published. MPs, Euro MPs and MPs from state parliaments were affected, said Martina Fietz.
She said the government was not yet certain that the data had been stolen by cyber-hackers. Some reports suggested a lone leaker may have had access to sensitive data through their work.
A cyber analyst told the BBC there was speculation that hackers may have exploited weaknesses in email software to get hold of passwords that those targeted had also used on social media accounts. Germany’s federal office for information security (BSI) said government networks were not affected, as far as it was aware.
Hundreds of German politicians, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, have had personal details stolen and published online.
Contacts, private chats and financial details were put out on Twitter which belong to figures from every political party except the far-right AfD.
Data from celebrities and journalists were also leaked.
It is unclear who was behind the attack, which emerged on Twitter in the style of an advent calendar last month.
The true extent of damage caused by the leak is not yet known although Justice Minister Katarina Barley said it was a “serious attack”.
“The people behind this want to damage confidence in our democracy and institutions,” she said.
A government spokeswoman said no sensitive data from the chancellor’s office had been published. MPs, Euro MPs and MPs from state parliaments were affected, said Martina Fietz.
She said the government was not yet certain that the data had been stolen by cyber-hackers. Some reports suggested a lone leaker may have had access to sensitive data through their work.
A cyber analyst told the BBC there was speculation that hackers may have exploited weaknesses in email software to get hold of passwords that those targeted had also used on social media accounts. Germany’s federal office for information security (BSI) said government networks were not affected, as far as it was aware.
