Italy's foreign minister says pro-Russian hackers leaked his personal data over Rome's ...

Tajani says his personal data has been on the dark web for days and the hackers are offering money for more on him and his family [1] [2] .

Il Fatto Quotidiano reports NoName057(16) has offered payment since Oct. 26 for passwords, addresses and personal details of 18 people it considers enemies of Russia [1] .

Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that pro-Russian hackers have published his personal data on the dark web and are trying to buy more information him and his family. "Criminali informatici da giorni hanno diffuso i miei dati personali sul dark web" ("Cybercriminals have been spreading my personal data on the dark web for days"), he said [2] [3] .

Il Fatto Quotidiano, which first reported the case, attributes it to NoName057(16), a pro-Russian group it describes as close to Russian military intelligence. Since Oct. 26 the group has offered money on a dark-web site for passwords, addresses and personal information 18 people it considers enemies of the Russian Federation [1] . Named targets besides Tajani include Rome chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, Postal Police head Ivano Gabrielli and Aviano mayor Paolo Tassan-Zanin. The paper did not report how much the group is offering [1] .

Tajani blames Italy's Ukraine stance

"La nostra posizione sull'Ucraina è la ragione politica per cui sono entrato nel mirino" ("Our position on Ukraine is the political reason I was targeted"), Tajani said, adding that he "will not be intimidated in any way" [1] [2] . He said he set up a cyber directorate at the Foreign Ministry on Jan. 1 to protect it from intrusions and that it is "operational and connected with our allies" [1] .

Rome prosecutors opened a file after a police complaint, Il Fatto reported; the paper said authorities have known the bounty for at least two weeks and the site is still reachable [1] . Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "full solidarity" with Tajani, saying the sale of confidential information public officials "causes great concern" [1] [2] .

The group has gone after Italian targets before. In February, Tajani said the ministry neutralized an attack on the websites of around 120 offices, including the embassy in Washington, after the group went after sites linked to the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics [4] .