The personal phone numbers of Italy’s President Sergio Mattarella, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as several ministers and senior officials from government agencies and law enforcement, have become available on the internet, reports the Fatto Quotidiano newspaper.
According to the article, the data leak was discovered by cybersecurity expert and former Apple employee Andrea Mavilla. His alert prompted an investigation led by the postal police and the personal data protection authority.
The publication notes that at least eight platforms provide paid access to contact databases. These platforms are engaged in so-called lead generation — a marketing strategy aimed at finding potential clients and collecting their personal information. Fatto Quotidiano tested three websites and found large databases with contacts, including 2,125 numbers from the Prime Minister’s Office, over 13,000 from the Ministry of Justice, nearly 5,000 from the Ministry of the Interior, and more than 11,000 from the Ministry of Defense. The lists also include thousands of contacts from the police, carabinieri, and financial guard.
For 50 euros per month, it is possible to access the phone numbers of the Minister of the Interior Matteo Piantedosi and the Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto. These numbers, like those of Meloni and Mattarella, are active and can be used to track the movements of their owners.
