Massive data attack targeting hundreds of German politicians and celebrities

Following the hacker attack on hundreds of politicians and celebrities, investigators have arrested a 20-year-old suspect today. The apartment of the suspect had been searched and he has been taken into custody. This was reported by the central agency of the attorney general in Frankfurt am Main (Zentralstelle zur Bekämpfung der Internetkriminalität der Generalstaatsanwaltschaft Frankfurt am Main) and the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA).

On January 7, prior to the arrest, the household of a 19-year-old IT worker, who is being treated as a witness, was searched and technical equipment was confiscated. He claimed that he knows the hacker.

On Friday, January 4, Germany’s Federal Office for IT Safety (BSI) revealed that it was investigating a data leak concerning hundreds of German politicians, journalists and celebrities published on the platform Twitter. The authorities were working together with the Irish Data Protection Commissioner to stop the spreading of the affected data. The hack targeted all of Germany’s political parties represented in the federal parliament at the moment, except for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

The data was published via a Twitter account, followed by more than 17,000 people at the time, in the style of an advent calendar over the course of December 2018. It included mobile phone numbers, contact info and private chats. Furthermore, ID cards as well as banking and financial details, for example credit card details, were leaked.