Germany’s AfD investigates online publication of emails after September cyberattack

Germany’s Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on October 20 that it was investigating the online publication of material apparently copied during a September cyberattack on a service provider used by the party. The case raises questions about the exposure of party records, while the AfD has yet to establish how much data was taken.

What the AfD says happened to its email accounts

An AfD spokesperson told Reuters that hackers targeted a hosting provider and apparently copied data from a small number of email accounts, most of which had not been used for years. In a statement reported by AFP, the party said the attack was quickly detected and stopped, and affected users were subsequently informed.

Reported scale and contents of the published material

Bild reported that more than 421,000 emails were taken, according to AFP. Reuters said Bild described more than 420,000 emails linked to the party as published. Those figures are Bild’s account, rather than an amount confirmed by the AfD.

AFP reported that Bild identified messages sent by AfD co-leader Alice Weidel and co-founder Alexander Gauland among the stolen emails. According to AFP’s account of Bild’s reporting, material described as published also included photos of some members’ identity cards, bank statements, membership applications and lists from local party branches. The party has not confirmed an inventory of the material.

The accounts differ on what the public could see. AFP said a website posted what it called summaries of some emails, without the original messages. Reuters said the site was offline by Tuesday afternoon, while archived versions displayed what was described as 281 gigabytes of data. It was not immediately clear what material had actually been accessible online.

Why the breach matters for the AfD

The disclosure comes as the AfD leads national opinion polls, according to both Reuters and AFP. AFP reported that it came first in two September state elections, including its strongest result in Saxony-Anhalt. A breach involving party correspondence and membership records could affect officials and members whose information was included, although the party’s review has not yet established the extent of any exposure.

The party also faces calls from some politicians and civil society groups for a ban, Reuters reported. They argue that the AfD threatens Germany’s democratic constitutional order; the AfD rejects that accusation as politically motivated.