The National Police has added in recent days new evidence to the investigation into the leak and dissemination of personal data of high-ranking political officials and institutional officials. The case affects top-level figures and keeps the specialized cybersecurity teams of the General Information Office on alert.
The investigation remains open since January
The investigation remains active since last January, when the dissemination of private information of the Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, was detected, as well as of executives and officials of Renfe and Adif. From that moment, the leak extended to other high-ranking officials, including several regional presidents such as Isabel Díaz Ayuso and Juan Manuel Moreno Bonilla.
Months earlier, private data of the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, and of several ministers of the Executive, including Margarita Robles and José Manuel Albares, had already begun to circulate. Other high-ranking officials and members of the National Intelligence Center were also affected.
Repeated dissemination and new data under analysis
Part of that information has been recirculated this very weekend. Along with the already known data, new elements have appeared that are now being analyzed by the National Police. Agents specialized in cybercrime are working to determine the origin and extent of the leak.
Police sources emphasize that this type of leak responds to usual dynamics in hacker environments, many of them very young, who share stolen databases on Telegram channels or in private forums. Investigators explain that in some cases it is information obtained some time ago that reappears recurrently to maximize its media or political impact.
"The leaked information usually reappears every so often in closed channels" - Police spokesperson, General Information Police Station
Antecedents and previous detentions
Last summer, the National Police arrested two young people in Las Palmas for their alleged involvement in a similar action. In that operation, the massive dissemination of addresses, phone numbers, ID cards, and email addresses of ministers, socialist militants, and people linked to the Koldo case was uncovered.
On that same channel, data of the President of Congress, Francina Armengol, and of the President of the Generalitat of Catalonia, Salvador Illa, was published. The investigation into the leak of personal data of political officials and high-ranking officials is ongoing and under secrecy.