Italian Foreign Minister Tajani Says Personal Data Leaked on Dark Web by Pro-Russian Hackers Over Ukraine Support

Rome: Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that his personal data had been published on the dark web by what he described as pro-Russian hackers, linking the move to the Italian government’s support for Ukraine.

Tajani, who also serves as Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister, said in a post on X that “backing in a transparent way the freedom and independence of a sovereign state” had made him a target. He added that the hackers were seeking further information about him and his family and were willing to pay for it.

According to Tajani, the attacks were also a reaction to efforts by the Foreign Ministry to strengthen its cybersecurity.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, one of the strongest supporters of Ukraine among Western leaders, expressed her solidarity with Tajani and described the sale of confidential information relating to public officials as “a matter of serious concern.”

Screenshots seen by Reuters showed Tajani’s photograph among a list of 18 “citizens hostile to the Russian Federation,” which also included cybersecurity experts.

A person close to the minister told Reuters that the material had been discovered in a section of the dark web accessible through the Tor network during monitoring activities carried out by cybersecurity authorities. Further investigations are under way, the source added.

Moscow has not commented on the incident. Russia has consistently denied any involvement in cyberattacks or hacking operations abroad.