Germany’s far-right AfD hit by mass e-mail theft
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Hackers broke into e-mail accounts belonging to AfD members in September, with messages sent by party co-leader Alice Weidel among those stolen.
PHOTO: EPA
BERLIN – Hackers broke into the e-mail accounts belonging to members of Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party and stole a large number of messages, the party said on Oct 20.
More than 421,000 e-mails were taken in the attack in September, including messages sent by party co-leader Alice Weidel and co-founder Alexander Gauland, the Bild daily reported.
A website published what it said were summaries of some of the e-mails, but not the original messages.
Bild said the published messages included photos of the ID cards of some party members, as well as bank statements, membership applications and membership lists from some local AfD branches.
The AfD confirmed to AFP that an e-mail service provider used by the party had been targeted, and that “a small number of e-mail accounts – most of which had not been used for years – were apparently copied unlawfully”.
“This attack was quickly detected and stopped, and all users were subsequently informed accordingly,” said an AfD statement.
The party said it was reviewing what had been published online.
The anti-immigration, Russia-friendly AfD is topping national opinion polls and came first in two state elections in September, comfortably ahead of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s centre-right CDU.
The party scored its biggest win in Saxony-Anhalt, where it hopes to form Germany’s first far-right state government since World War II. AFP