The Turkish e-Devlet government services website has fallen victim to a significant hacking incident. The platform, which is the main public administration portal in Turkey, stores personal information including details about education, health, banking credentials, and tax status. The hackers have managed to steal an extensive array of personal data from the site, including ID numbers, phone numbers, information about individuals' family members and more. Hackers have now made the data stolen in this attack available to anyone willing to sign up for membership, with the promise of more sensitive information available for premium members.
Since the initial leak, the data has also been made available on other sites offering details ranging from basic identity information, to sensitive data such as e-school records, official identification documents, property details, and full addresses. High-profile individuals, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), and even ex-President Abdullah Gül, have not been spared in the data leak, with their personal data being openly accessible. This shocking breach of privacy and security is said to have affected an estimated 85 million individuals, raising serious concerns about data security and privacy protection in Turkey.
While the data violation is seen as the most extensive yet in Turkey, causing a significant digital security problem, the Turkish authorities have yet to publicly address the issue. The websites offering the details, despite their criminal activities, remain accessible, although they have been frequently crashing due to high demand of malicious threat actors attempting to access the information to potentially be used for further harmful activities in the region.
Digital rights expert Yaman Akdeniz underscored the necessity for more secure protection of highly sensitive personal data and called for an immediate investigation into those responsible for the leak. He also issuing warnings to citizens about potential misuse of their personal data. This incident, which follows a previous alleged data breach in Turkey's e-Government Gateway system last year, has once again put the spotlight on the country's data security measures.