In one of the largest security breaches to date, personal details of 50 million Turkish citizens have been leaked and posted online, putting nearly two thirds of its entire population at risk. This massive security breach, which also includes the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erogan, appeared on an Icelandic group’s website Monday and offered personal information including first and last name, National identifier numbers, gender, birthplace, birthdate, address and ID registration city and district. While Turkey attempted to downplay the breach, claiming that the information is an “old story” from a 2010 breach, this is the first time the information has been posted online in decrypted form.
The cyber-attack also appears to be politically motivated. Not only did the information provided include Turkish President and Prime Minister, the hackers also wrote the following message on the website’s front page: “Who would have imagined that backwards ideologies, cronyism and rising religious extremism in Turkey would lead to a crumbling and vulnerable technical infrastructure? Do something about [Turkish President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan! He is destroying your country beyond recognition.” Additionally, many believe the hackers may be American as another comment refers to presidential candidate Donald Trump: “Lessons for the U.S.? We really shouldn’t elect Trump. That guy sounds like he knows even less about running a country than Erdogan does.”