Italian politicians rocked by major data breach led by private investigations company and consultant.
Attackers stole confidential data of some of Italy’s most powerful politicians as part of a multi-year breach of a national security database.
According to allegations revealed by Italian prosecutors and detailed in a 518-page judicial document seen by POLITICO, a group led by IT consultant Nunzio Samuele Calamucci downloaded reams of private data belonging to thousands of Italians, including President Sergio Mattarella and former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
The breach was allegedly run by a private investigations company called Equalize, who tapped into government databases through a computer virus that allowed it to control the servers remotely, as well as through moles working on the inside.
One compromised database logged suspicious financial activity, another traced private bank transactions and a third housed police investigations. In wiretaps, Calamucci, who worked for Equalize, allegedly boasted of having hacked the information of 800,000 people.
The data was then sold to clients or used to blackmail entrepreneurs and politicians from at least 2019 until March this year, the judicial document said. The group is believed to have raised more than €3.1 million in illicit proceeds.
As of yesterday, four people have been arrested and 60 under investigation. On Thursday an investigating judge is expected to hear the allegations, which include conspiracy to hack, corruption, illegal accessing of data and the violation of official secrets.
Written by
Dan Raywood
Senior Editor
SC Media UK
Dan Raywood is a B2B journalist with more than 20 years of experience, including covering cybersecurity for the past 16 years. He has extensively covered topics from Advanced Persistent Threats and nation-state hackers to major data breaches and regulatory changes.
He has spoken at events including 44CON, Infosecurity Europe, RANT Conference, BSides Scotland, Steelcon and ESET Security Days.
Outside work, Dan enjoys supporting Tottenham Hotspur, managing mischievous cats, and sampling craft beers.
