D.he public prosecutor’s office in Albania has started investigations into a massive data leak. This was announced by the Tirana public prosecutor on Thursday. Previously, the personal data of thousands of people, including Prime Minister Edi Rama and President Ilir Meta, appeared on public platforms on the Internet, a reporter from the AFP news agency confirmed.
The data included user IDs, employer names, monthly salaries and phone numbers. They were distributed on Whatsapp and other platforms on Wednesday.
The Albanian press estimated the number of people affected by the leak at almost 700,000. These include bank employees, entrepreneurs, civil servants, employees of the secret services and the military, as well as journalists.
Authorities server confiscated
According to media reports, the investigators seized the servers of several institutions, including the tax authority and social security. The head of government said at a press conference that it was not a “cyber attack”. Instead, the leak was “organized from within by people with access to the databases”. He promised that the incident would be fully investigated. “The aim was also to create confusion and damage stability,” he said.
It is the second major data leak in Albania within a year. Almost one million Albanians had leaked to the media in April ahead of the parliamentary elections. So far, no one has been held responsible in this case.