Lucrezia Ciotti The hacker attack against Antonio Tajani reignites alarm about hybrid warfare and cyber threats against Italian institutions. Following the release of the Foreign Minister's and his family's personal data on the dark web, the government is preparing countermeasures, while the case reaches the G7 summit in Paris. Meanwhile, Matteo Piantedosi convenes a meeting at the Interior Ministry to assess cybersecurity risks.
Tajani in Paris for the G7: hybrid warfare and cyberattacks, Italy calls for a common response
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani is expected in Paris for the second G7 Foreign Ministerial Meeting, scheduled for November 9 and 10 under the French Presidency. Among the key topics of the summit will be the escalation of hybrid warfare in Europe, which has become particularly evident following the leak of the Deputy Prime Minister's and some of his family members' personal data on the dark web.
This issue has also involved other Italian institutional figures, prompting the Foreign Minister to ask his French counterpart, Jean-Noël Barrot, to include the cyber threat on the agenda. " We need a strong signal ," Tajani declared, emphasizing the need for a shared position among Western democracies.
" Hybrid warfare affects the democratic system ," he added, explaining that it is no longer just a question of individual episodes, but of a strategy that aims to generate instability and influence public opinion.
The meeting will also involve the Ukrainian Foreign Minister and will include a session dedicated to artificial intelligence , as well as in-depth discussions on major international crises, from the Middle East to Sudan to the Indo-Pacific. On the Ukrainian front , Tajani will confirm Italy's support for Kyiv, including through the preparation of the thirteenth military aid package. The minister also reiterated that Italy is looking to the East to identify the possible origin of the threats, while distinguishing the responsibility of pro-Russian hackers from the possible direct involvement of a foreign state. " Pro-Russian hackers are one thing, but if a foreign country is behind the action, that's another thing, " he clarified. Before taking any diplomatic initiatives, it will therefore be necessary to await the findings of investigators and intelligence agencies.
Should specific responsibilities emerge, he assured, Rome would be ready to react politically and diplomatically. The Deputy Prime Minister also attributed the attack to Italy's stance in supporting Ukraine, arguing that defending a state's sovereignty and independence constitutes a source of hostility for these criminal organizations.
Pro-Russian hackers targeted: Piantedosi convenes Security Committee
The pro-Russian collective NoName057(16) is said to be behind the dissemination of personal information , having allegedly started a collection of sensitive data regarding eighteen people considered hostile to the Russian Federation. The Italian names include, in addition to Tajani, the Rome prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, the director of the Postal Police Ivano Gabrielli and the mayor of Aviano, Paolo Tassan-Zanin, administrator of the Friulian municipality which hosts a US military base. The group is said to have even placed a sort of bounty on the private information of the identified individuals, offering rewards to anyone who managed to obtain telephone numbers, email addresses and other contact details. The published profiles also contain CVs, personal contact details and home addresses. The list does not only concern Italian citizens: other personalities indicated include Michael Schmid, president of Eurojust, the German magistrate Benjamin Krause, the head of the German criminal police Holger Münch and the investigative journalist Michael Alexander Martens.
Tajani assured that the Farnesina's structures are working to counter intrusions , noting that since January 24st, the ministry has had a new Directorate General dedicated to cybersecurity and a 24-hour operations room, connected to the National Cybersecurity Agency. The minister also warned of the risk of disinformation campaigns ahead of the upcoming elections, including the use of artificial intelligence to manipulate images and information.
Meanwhile, on the internal security front, Matteo Piantedosi has called a meeting of the National Committee for Public Order and Security at the Interior Ministry for Tuesday, November 10. The meeting will focus on assessing the risks to the community associated with cyber attacks and the evolving cyber threat. The Italian Data Protection Authority has also weighed in on the case, urging media outlets not to acquire or republish illegally disseminated private information: its further circulation could constitute a violation of privacy laws, even when the individuals involved hold public office.