Hackers Dump Personal Data of Hundreds of German Politicians

Hackers have released confidential data linked to Chancellor Angela Merkel and hundreds of other politicians in Germany in the biggest data dump of its kind in the country, reported Bloomberg. 

The information includes email addresses, mobile phone numbers, photos of IDs and personal chat histories, according to an initial review on Friday. It was leaked over the past weeks via a Twitter account calling itself "G0d" that identifies itself as based in Hamburg and describes itself using the words "security researching," "artist" and "satire & irony."

Federal cyber security agency BSI is investigating the hack at its national cyber defense center and can't comment further for now, a spokesman said Friday by phone. Germany's domestic intelligence agency wasn't immediately available to comment.

Germany has seen a range of intrusions in recent years, including attempted hacks of political foundations linked to the CDU and SPD parties in 2017 and a breach of its parliamentary network in 2015, when criminals stole 16 gigabytes of data. Security firm Trend Micro Inc. has linked the Bundestag attack and others to Pawn Storm, a group with ties to Russia.

Minister Chats

The current dump includes two email addresses and a fax number the perpetrators link to Merkel. There's also what appears to be chat transcripts from Economy Minister Peter Altmaier. More mundane material includes rental-car contracts and letters, some of them several years old.

The attack appears to have affected all major German political parties with the exception of the populist Alternative for Germany.

The hack was first reported early Friday by Berlin broadcaster RBB.

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