421,000 AfD emails online: Mirko Ross disputes the party’s account

After a hacker attack on AfD email accounts, around 421,000 emails are said to have been published. The party says only a few mailboxes were affected, most of them old. In an interview with MDR AKTUELL, asvin CEO Mirko Ross takes a different view.

 “You cannot say that this is just a small amount of old data.”

Membership lists, financial data, ID documents

According to Ross, the material contains attachments, membership lists, financial data and ID documents as well as emails. It also includes data from 2026. Much of it comes from North Rhine-Westphalia, but communication with other regional branches and with current and former senior AfD politicians is also affected.

An archive that can’t simply be deleted

Ross also explains why the data can hardly be removed from the internet now: the archive was distributed via the decentralised BitTorrent network. It is still unclear who is behind the publication, and the data has not yet been verified as authentic. It is also unclear whether the information was stolen in an external attack or passed on by someone with internal access. According to Ross, the AfD must report the incident to the relevant data protection authorities and establish how the data ended up in the wrong hands.

His conclusion: “The damage to the party is very serious.”

Listen now:

The full report is available from MDR AKTUELL. The article includes the radio piece in which Mirko Ross explains what the leak means.

Read and listen on MDR AKTUELL:
https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/deutschland/politik/hackerangriff-schaden-angriff-mails,afd-1318.html

AFD Cyber attack - MDR interviewed Mirko Ross
Konrad Buck

Konrad Buck

Head of Press and Media Relations

Background & Expert Access for Media

We offer journalists access to in-depth background information beyond our publicly available materials, including:
  • Detailed insights into asvin’s products and technologies

  • Assessments of current cyber incidents and explanations of the security landscape

  • Expert commentary and background briefings — our CEO, Mirko Ross, is a recognised expert and experienced media source on the cyber threat landscape, hacktivism, regulation and the use of AI.
Media contact
I speak openly, fact-based, and without PR spin. I am a former IT journalist with decades of experience in the IT and cybersecurity space, familiar with the highs and lows of the industry. Off-the-record discussions are possible upon request.