Italy’s foreign ministry has confirmed that cybersecurity authorities found personal data belonging to Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani circulating on the dark web, in a section accessible through the Tor network. The ministry disclosed the finding in a statement published on November 7, saying the material had appeared online in recent days.
The ministry did not say what information was exposed or how many records were involved. Tajani linked the threats to Italy’s support for Ukraine and said people behind the activity were seeking more information about him and his family. The Associated Press reported that he described the activity as an ongoing source of threats and intimidation.
The ministry also expressed solidarity with Rome prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, Postal Police director Ivano Gabrielli and mayor Paolo Tassan-Zanin, saying they had received similar threats. Reuters reported that screenshots it reviewed showed Tajani among a list of 18 people labelled “citizens hostile to the Russian Federation.” A separate 2024 incident saw pro-Russian hackers claim a DDoS attack that disrupted Italian government and airport websites.
Tajani asked the G7’s rotating presidency to put hybrid threats on the agenda of the foreign ministers’ meeting in Paris on November 9 and 10. The ministry said it had created a dedicated cyber directorate on January 1 to protect the foreign ministry from cyber intrusions.
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