Media: Personal phone numbers of Italy's president, premier and ministers leak online

The personal phone numbers of Italian President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, ministers and thousands of employees of key government institutions and security agencies have been exposed in a massive data leak.

Thousands of phone numbers belonging to employees of critical government departments and law enforcement agencies were found on various online platforms, sparking concerns over privacy and national security, Caliber.Az reports, citing Italian news service Fatto Quotidiano.

Cybersecurity expert Andrea Mavilla, a former Apple employee, alerted authorities to the leak. The investigation was subsequently taken up by the postal police – Italy’s unit combating online crime – and the country’s data protection agency.

According to the report, at least eight online platforms, some based in Israel, Russia, and the United States, are offering paid access to extensive databases containing sensitive contact details. These databases are part of a practice known as "lead generation," a marketing tactic used to gather potential clients' contact information.

The leaked data includes over 2,100 contacts related to the Prime Minister’s office, more than 13,000 from the Ministry of Justice, nearly 5,000 from the Ministry of the Interior, and upwards of 11,000 from the Ministry of Defense. Additionally, the list features the contact information of state police, carabinieri, and financial guard personnel.

For a subscription fee of 50 euros per month, the exposed contacts include the phone numbers of high-ranking officials such as Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi and Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto. The leak also reveals that the phone numbers remain active, making it possible to track the movements of these officials in real-time.

The National Cybersecurity Agency has stated that no immediate threats to national security have been detected in connection with the leak.

By Khagan Isayev