Germany’s far-right AfD investigates publication of emails stolen in cyberattack

BERLIN, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) said on Tuesday that it was investigating the online publication of emails stolen by unknown hackers during a cyberattack last month.

An AfD spokesperson said hackers had targeted a hosting service provider used by the party and apparently copied data from a small number of email accounts, most of which had not been used for years. 

“The recent online publication of what is presumably a portion of this data is currently being investigated,” the spokesperson said. “A preliminary assessment can only be provided once this investigation has been concluded.”

The spokesperson did not say how much data was stolen. 

The statement followed a report by Bild newspaper saying over 420,000 emails linked to the party had been published online. 

According to Bild, the material included emails sent by party figures such as co-leader Alice Weidel as well as bank statements, academic certificates and membership lists.

The website hosting the material was offline by Tuesday afternoon, but archived versions showed a trove of 281 gigabytes of data under the headline “The party’s own records, unedited”.

The leak comes as the AfD, which has topped national opinion polls and made gains in recent state elections, faces calls from some politicians and civil society groups for it to be banned. 

They argue the party threatens Germany’s democratic constitutional order, an accusation the AfD rejects as politically motivated. 

(Reporting by Miranda MurrayEditing by Ludwig Burger)