Italian Foreign Minister Tajani Says Hackers Published His Personal Data Over Ukraine Stance

For several days, according to Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, personal data belonging to him has been appearing on the dark web, posted by people he calls cyber-criminals. He made the disclosure himself, in a post on X, where he wrote that the hackers were also seeking further information and that this left him exposed to new threats and intimidation.

Tajani did not say what form those threats have taken. He did say the hackers were going after his family as well as him. The dark web, for readers who have not used it, is the part of the internet that search engines do not index and that requires specialist software to reach.

He was direct about why he thinks it is happening. In his words, Italy's position on Ukraine is the political reason he has been targeted. He described defending the freedom of a sovereign state, and taking a clear stand for a nation's democracy and independence, as something these criminal entities see as dangerous. Tajani is also Italy's deputy prime minister, and he said the government is treating the threats seriously.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni responded with a statement offering Tajani her full solidarity. She attributed the incident to pro-Russian hackers. She also called the sale of confidential information about institutional representatives a cause of serious concern, one that must be tackled with the utmost determination. Her wording points to a sale, not only a publication, though the reporting does not say who is selling what or to whom.

Meloni raised a second matter in the same statement: the circulation of false images, which she said were shared by members of Italy's opposition. She did not describe what the images showed, and it is not clear from the reporting how they relate to the data publication, if at all.

The backdrop is Italy's role in the war in Ukraine. The Italian government has given Ukraine both humanitarian and military support in its fight against Russia. That policy is the link Tajani and Meloni draw between the leak and the hackers' motives.

Moscow has not publicly responded to the allegations. The attribution to pro-Russian hackers comes from the Italian prime minister's statement, and the reporting does not cite technical evidence or an investigation naming the perpetrators.

What remains open is considerable: the nature of the threats Tajani mentions, the exact data that was exposed, the content of the images Meloni referred to, and whether any Russian response will follow. Those are the points to watch as the government says it is pursuing the matter.