Hack at AfD’s email provider exposes 345,000 addresses and messages

A cyberattack on the email hosting provider used by Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) exposed hundreds of thousands of emails and attachments, along with more than 345,000 unique email addresses. The breach has drawn attention because the leaked messages have prompted reports about party members’ views and conduct, while the AfD disputes interpretations drawn from them.

The breach was confirmed by Have I Been Pwned after the party disclosed the attack last week, saying a small number of accounts had been copied but a large amount of data taken. A journalist’s report, citing hackers and party sources, said the attack began on 9 September through a poorly protected WordPress site and led to more than a terabyte of data being extracted; those claims have not been officially verified. The AfD said it notified affected account owners and reported the incident to security authorities, while reporting on the raw files has raised questions about Alice Weidel’s prior knowledge of donations linked to the 2017 federal elections.