Massive data leak targets German officials including Chancellor Angela Merkel
Berlin, Jan 4: Private data stolen from hundreds of German politicians including Chancellor Angela Merkel have been published online, the government said Friday, in a stunning breach of cyber security.
The information, which comprised home addresses, mobile phone numbers, letters, invoices and copies of identity documents, was first released via Twitter in December but its spread gathered pace this week.
It was not immediately clear whether the officials were targeted by hackers or the victims of an internal leak of the data, some of which dates back to 2017.
"Personal data and documents belonging to hundreds of politicians and public figures were published on the internet," government spokeswoman Martina Fietz said.
"The government is taking this incident very seriously." Among those affected were members of the Bundestag lower house of parliament and the European Parliament as well as regional and local assemblies, she said.
Deputies from all parties represented in the Bundestag were targeted, as well as President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, an interior ministry spokesman said.
However Christian Lueth, parliamentary group speaker for the Alternative for Germany (AfD), later said that his party's deputies were not hit by the attack and the interior ministry later confirmed this.
Fietz said a preliminary investigation indicated that "no sensitive information or data" from Merkel's office had been leaked.
Berlin's political establishment nevertheless reacted with alarm.
"Whoever is behind this wants to damage faith in our democracy and its institutions," Justice Minister Katarina Barley said in a statement.
The far-left Linke's parliamentary group chief, Dietmar Bartsch, called it "an attack on democracy".
Beyond politicians, the leak also exposed the private data of celebrities and journalists, including chats and voicemail messages from spouses and children of those targeted.
The daily Bild and public broadcaster RBB first reported the leak. Bild said it was not clear when the data theft began but said it continued until the end of October.
"At first glance, it does not seem that politically sensitive material was included," RBB said.
"However the damage is likely to be massive given the volume of personal data published." The interior ministry spokesman said it was unclear who was behind the data dump, which derived both from social media and private "cloud" data.
A deputy from Merkel's Christian Democratic Union party, Patrick Sensburg, pointed the finger at right-wing extremists.
"I assume this was a hacker attack by people close to the AfD," he told the daily Handelsblatt.
Fietz said the amount of Merkel's data that was exposed was "not excessive" but warned that some of the documents and information published might have been faked.
Given the vast range of data hoovered up, IT experts said it seemed unlikely that it was taken from a single source.
Parliamentary group leaders were notified of the attack late Thursday and the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) and the domestic intelligence service said they were investigating.
"According to our current information, government networks have not been targeted," BSI tweeted.
The Twitter account @_0rbit published the links every day last month, along the lines of an advent calendar with each link to new information hidden behind a "door".
The account, which calls itself G0d, was opened in mid-2017 and purportedly has more than 18,000 followers.
It described its activities as "security researching", "artist" and "satire and irony" and said it was based in Hamburg.
A link to Merkel's data showed two email addresses used by the chancellor, a fax number and letters apparently written by her and to her.
By midday Friday, Twitter had suspended the account.
Last year, the domestic intelligence service, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, said there had been repeated cyberattacks against MPs, the military and several embassies that were allegedly carried out by Russian internet espionage group "Snake".
Also known as "Turla" or "Uruburos", the group -- which targets state departments and embassies worldwide -- is believed to have links to Russian intelligence.
Last March, computer networks belonging to the German government came under sustained attack and data from foreign ministry staff was stolen.
At the time, Moscow denied that Russian hackers were involved.
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Putin meets Iran's FM Araghchi, says Russia ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia
Moscow (PTI): Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Monday met Russian President Vladimir Putin, who hailed the Iranian people for fighting bravely and heroically for their sovereignty and said Moscow is ready to do its best to help bring peace to West Asia as soon as possible.
Araghchi, who held talks with Omani and Pakistani leadership before arriving in Russia, met Putin in St. Petersburg and thanked him for supporting Iran, state-owned TASS news agency reported.
"Russia is ready to do everything in its power to ensure that peace in the Middle East is achieved as soon as possible," Putin said during his meeting with Araghchi, which was also attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Revealing that he received a message from Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei last week, Putin asked Araghchi to convey his "gratitude for this message and best wishes for his health and well-being."
He praised the Iranian people for fighting "bravely and heroically" for their sovereignty, Iran's state-run PRESS TV reported.
"We really hope that, based on the courage and desire for independence, the Iranian people, under the guidance of the new leader, will weather this difficult period of trials and peace will come,” Putin said.
He also stressed that Russia “intends to maintain” its strategic relations with Iran.
Araghchi said that the world witnessed Iran’s strength in countering the US during the recent war, and that the Islamic Republic is a "stable and powerful establishment."
"With their courage, the Iranian people succeeded in resisting the US aggression and will be able to endure it,” he said.
He said that it became clear that Iran has “great friends and allies” like Russia, and conveyed “warmest greetings” from Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and President Masoud Pezeshkian to the Russian leader.
Araghchi said relations between Moscow and Tehran represent a “strategic partnership at the highest level” and will continue to develop "regardless of circumstances."
"We are grateful to you for the solid and strong positions in support of the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.
Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the talks between President Putin and the Iranian Foreign Minister were "useful and constructive."
Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov later said that Russia is "ready to provide any good offices, any mediation services that are acceptable to the parties."
"We will be ready to do everything so that ultimately peace ensues, guaranteed peace, and that there is no return to hostilities," Peskov was quoted as saying by TASS.
He was asked how Moscow can assist in future negotiations on the Iranian settlement.
Araghchi arrived in Russia after his whirlwind trip to Islamabad, which, according to him, was “very productive” and involved “good consultations" with Pakistan's Army Chief Field Marshal Asim Munir, amid uncertainty over the second round of peace talks to resolve the war in West Asia.
"We held good consultations with our friends in Pakistan. The trip was successful. We assessed the outcome of our recent (meetings) and discussed in what direction and under what conditions talks can move on,” Araghchi said in a video posted on his Telegram channel upon his arrival in St Petersburg.
Referring to the second round of talks between the US and Iran to resolve the conflict in West Asia, Araghchi said: "Developments have taken place in the negotiations."
"Despite some progress in earlier rounds, the talks failed to reach their objectives due to the Americans' approach, the excessive demands they made, and the wrong approaches they adopted. Therefore, it was necessary to consult with our friends in Pakistan to review the latest situation,” Iran's official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying.
He said that the trip to Pakistan was a good opportunity to review developments related to the US-Israeli war against Iran, expressing confidence that “these consultations and coordination between the two countries will be highly significant.”
Araghchi arrived at St. Petersburg's Pulkovo Airport early Monday, where he was welcomed by Russian officials and Iran’s ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, the report said.
The first round of peace talks between Iran and the US, held on April 11 and 12, failed to bring the desired result for the parties to the conflict.
The Iranian minister arrived in Islamabad for the second time on Sunday after a short visit to Oman, where he held talks with Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said on security in the Strait of Hormuz and diplomatic efforts to end the Iran-US conflict.
After Araghchi left Pakistan for Oman on Saturday, President Donald Trump announced that US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would no longer be going to Islamabad for talks with Iran, contending that Washington held all the cards on the matter.
Trump on Sunday reiterated that the US and Iranian officials can talk by phone for a peace solution to the conflict.
On Tuesday, Trump extended the two-week ceasefire with Iran indefinitely to give Tehran more time to prepare a unified proposal to end the war, just hours before the truce was set to expire.
The war began when the US and Israel jointly attacked Iran on February 28, killing Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several top commanders. The retaliation by the Islamic Republic extended the war to the entire Gulf region.
