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Italy's foreign minister says his personal data has been published on the dark web — and his prime minister is blaming pro-Russian hackers. Antonio Tajani, who is also Italy's deputy prime minister, announced on Saturday that cybercriminals had been spreading his personal information for days, exposing him and his family to what he called new threats and intimidation.
"For days now, cybercriminals have been publishing my personal data on the dark web and seeking further information, effectively exposing me to new threats and intimidation," Tajani wrote in a social media post. He did not specify what kind of information had been shared, but said the cyberthreat was ongoing — and that the hackers were willing to pay for more.
What Meloni blamed, and what Tajani did not say
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni moved quickly to frame the attack. She expressed solidarity with Tajani "following the revelations about the activities of pro-Russian hackers, and the publication on the dark web of personal data," and called attempts to sell confidential information about government officials "a matter of grave concern that must be addressed with the utmost determination," according to reports from Al Jazeera.
Tajani himself was more careful. He did not name who might be responsible, but he linked the attack to Italy's support for Ukraine — and said the hackers were also reacting to the foreign ministry's efforts to strengthen cybersecurity. Screenshots seen by Reuters showed Tajani's picture among a list of 18 people described as "citizens hostile to the Russian Federation", which also included cybersecurity experts. The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano reported that a hacker group called NoName057(16), believed to have links to Russian military intelligence service GRU, has been offering money since 26 October for passwords, home addresses, CVs and private phone numbers belonging to the 18. Moscow has not commented on the incident, and Russia has consistently denied any involvement in cyberattacks abroad.
Part of a wider pattern
The leak did not arrive in isolation. It comes amid a spate of hoax bomb threats across Europe that have forced flight diversions and security alerts at broadcasters, alongside attacks on supermarket refrigeration systems and drone incursions. European law enforcement officials have reported an increase in cyberattacks from hacking groups sympathetic to Russia, and Tajani has asked for the topic of hybrid warfare to be placed at the top of the agenda of a G7 meeting set for Paris on Monday.
That is what makes this more than a personal data breach. Doxxing a foreign minister is cheap, deniable and hard to attribute with certainty — which is precisely why it fits the grey zone between crime and statecraft. The data itself may be mundane; the message is not. A minister who backs Ukraine finds his family details for sale on the dark web, and every other official watching learns the same lesson. The G7 meeting on Monday will test whether Europe can answer that lesson with anything more than solidarity statements. For more on how the region's conflicts are spilling into new domains, read how Houthi missiles reached Riyadh's financial district and Iran's new shipping-attack tactics in the Strait of Hormuz.
Sources: Al Jazeera and Reuters.