Prosecutors, police, cybersecurity staff data exposed in major doxxing case, suspect arrested in Spain
The Spanish National Police has arrested a suspect for leaking massive amounts of personal data belonging to employees of numerous key state institutions.
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Spanish police arrested a suspect in Granada accused of leaking large amounts of personal data from employees at major state institutions.
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The exposed data affected workers from the Public Prosecutor’s Office, National Security Council, National Police, Civil Guard, Ministry of Finance, Tax Agency, and INCIBE.
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Authorities said the leak created an immediate risk to the safety of affected people and the institutions involved.
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The case appears linked to a wider doxxing campaign that previously exposed personal data of Spanish judges, prosecutors, and current or former institutional employees.
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Police seized computers and other devices from the suspect’s home, and the investigation remains open with more arrests possible.
The man was arrested last week in the province of Granada. After locating him, police officers searched his home and seized various computers and other devices.
According to the police, the man owned sensitive and personal information of the workers of several leading institutions, including the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the National Security Council, the National Police, the Civil Guard, the State Attorney General's Office, the Ministry of Finance, the Tax Agency, and the National Cybersecurity Institute INCIBE.
“The investigation, led by the Investigative Court number 22 of Madrid, began after detecting the massive dissemination of this data, which generated an immediate risk for the safety and integrity of those affected and the institutions themselves,” the Spanish National Police stated in a press release.
“Given the seriousness of the situation, an urgent operation to locate and arrest the perpetrator was launched, culminating in the arrest of the perpetrator and a search of his home.”
Spreading personal information about someone online without their consent to intimidate that person is called doxxing. By making such information public via the internet, the perpetrator facilitates all sorts of crimes and threats, such as intimidation, stalking, harassment, and extortion.
Back in February, INCIBE published a blog post about an ongoing doxxing operation, stating that the cybersecurity agency's systems weren’t compromised. However, the personal data of former and current employees of several key institutes had been exposed.
In March, the personal data of hundreds of Spanish judges and prosecutors was published on Doxbin, a hidden online service used to anonymously post personally identifiable information of victims. According to BleepingComputer, this included full names, DNI numbers, personal mobile phone numbers, and professional email addresses.
The investigation is ongoing, so more arrests may follow. Police specialists are currently analyzing all seized devices.
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