Pro-Russian Hacktivists Publish Officials' Personal Details and Offer Crypto Rewards for More

Pro-Russian hackers have published personal information about Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and other senior European figures on the dark web, and are offering cryptocurrency to anyone who can supply more. Tajani said the campaign was meant to intimidate him over Italy's support for Ukraine, and that his family was also being targeted. The campaign has been linked to NoName057(16), a hacktivist group best known for cyberattacks against Ukraine and European countries that back it.

Researchers who examined the material say a dedicated dark web site lists 18 politicians, law enforcement officials and journalists. The profiles include phone numbers, email addresses, social media accounts and, in some cases, home addresses. Those named reportedly include the presidents of Eurojust and Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office, the head of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre, a Rome prosecutor, Italy's Postal Police chief, the mayor of Aviano, and three German journalists who have investigated Russian hackers.

The campaign appears to be retaliation for a July 2025 law enforcement operation, coordinated by Europol and Eurojust with authorities from 12 countries, which took more than 100 servers offline. Italian media report that several people on the list were involved in that investigation, and Italian prosecutors are now investigating the publication of the data. Russia has denied involvement, and its embassy in Italy dismissed the allegations.