Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said on Saturday that pro-Russian hackers have published his personal data on the dark web and are offering money for more information about him and his family — an attack he links directly to Italy's support for Ukraine. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni condemned the targeting and called the sale of confidential information about public officials "a matter of serious concern".
Tajani, who is also Italy's deputy prime minister, said in a post on X that hackers had been spreading his personal data for several days and were seeking further details about him and his family, and were willing to pay for them. "Backing in a transparent way the freedom and independence of a sovereign state" had made him a target, he wrote.
What Tajani said
In his post on X, Tajani said the hackers had been circulating his personal data on the dark web "for several days" and were "seeking to obtain further information, exposing me to new threats and intimidation". He was blunt about his response:
"I will not allow myself to be intimidated under any circumstances."
Tajani said the political reason for the targeting was Italy's position on Ukraine. "Our position on Ukraine is the political reason why I am being targeted: defending the freedom of a sovereign state, taking a clear stand in favour of democracy and the independence of a nation," he wrote, according to Agence France-Presse.
He also said the attack was partly a reaction to the Foreign Ministry's efforts to strengthen its own cybersecurity. Since 1 January, a cyber directorate has been working to protect the ministry from intrusions from attackers "often linked in some way to state entities hostile to us", he said.
The 18-person list
Screenshots seen by Reuters showed Tajani's photograph among a list of 18 people described as "citizens hostile to the Russian Federation", a list that also included cybersecurity experts. The material was found in a section of the dark web accessible through the Tor network, as part of monitoring carried out by cybersecurity authorities, a person close to the minister told Reuters. Further investigations are under way.
The Italian daily Il Fatto Quotidiano, which first reported the case, linked it to a pro-Russian hacker group called NoName057(16), which it said has been offering money since 26 October for passwords, home addresses, CVs, private telephone numbers and other personal data belonging to the 18 people on the list. Other named targets reported by the paper include Rome's chief prosecutor Francesco Lo Voi, the head of the Postal Police Ivano Gabrielli, and the mayor of Aviano, Paolo Tassan-Zanin.
Italian media reports describe NoName057(16) as a group believed to have links to Russian military intelligence. That link has not been independently confirmed by Reuters or by the Italian authorities, and Moscow has not commented on the incident. Russia has consistently denied any involvement in cyberattacks or hacking operations abroad.
Attribution is not settled. The description of the hackers as "pro-Russian" comes from Tajani and from Prime Minister Meloni; the identification of a specific group, NoName057(16), comes from Il Fatto Quotidiano's reporting. No government or independent investigator has publicly confirmed who runs the dark-web listing, and Moscow denies involvement in cyberattacks abroad. Treat the group attribution as reported, not established.
Meloni's response
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who Reuters describes as one of the strongest backers of Ukraine among Western leaders, expressed her full solidarity with Tajani. "I express my full solidarity with Deputy Prime Minister Antonio Tajani for what has emerged regarding the activity of pro-Russian hackers and the dissemination of his personal data on the dark web," Meloni said, adding that the sale of confidential information on institutional representatives "is of great concern and must be addressed with the utmost determination".
Italy has provided humanitarian and military support to Kyiv since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Meloni's government has been among the most vocal in Europe in backing Ukraine's defence. Tajani's argument — that his targeting is a consequence of that stance — is consistent with a pattern in which pro-Russian groups have singled out officials and institutions in countries most active in supporting Kyiv.
A wider pattern of attacks
The Tajani disclosure is not an isolated incident. In the same week, the company behind the Brenner Base Tunnel — the planned 55-kilometre rail link between Innsbruck in Austria and Fortezza in Italy — confirmed it had suffered a cyberattack on its systems on 17 October, involving the theft of non-public data through access to the company's internet-connected network. The Tiroler Tageszeitung, which first reported that incident, said initial investigations pointed to a pro-Russian hacker group called Everest.
Other recent incidents point in the same direction. On 1 November, Ukraine's air-raid alert system was hacked, according to Ukraine's Air Force, as sirens sounded across the country and people received false alerts warning of nuclear, chemical and street-fighting threats. On 4 November, the Kyiv Independent itself came under a cyberattack that disrupted its website and sent some readers emails containing fake claims in Russian and English; the outlet said the content of the fake claims pointed to a Russian operation, and that hackers had gained access to its content management system and to one of its newsletter services.
| Date | Incident | What is known |
|---|---|---|
| 17 October | Brenner Base Tunnel company (BBT SE) | Cyberattack confirmed; non-public data stolen. Austrian paper links initial findings to pro-Russian group Everest. |
| 26 October | Dark-web bounty begins | Money offered for personal data of 18 people described as "enemies of Russia", according to Il Fatto Quotidiano. |
| 1 November | Ukraine air-raid alert system | Hacked, Ukraine's Air Force said; false nuclear, chemical and street-fighting alerts sent. |
| 4 November | Kyiv Independent | Website disrupted; fake-claim emails sent to readers; content management system accessed. |
| 7 November | Antonio Tajani | Foreign minister says his personal data is on the dark web; Meloni condemns the targeting. |
What Italy is doing
Rome prosecutors have opened a file on the case after a police complaint, according to Il Fatto Quotidiano, which reported that the authorities have known about the bounty for at least two weeks and that the dark-web site carrying it is still reachable. Tajani said the Foreign Ministry would continue to strengthen its defences. "I will continue to work to defend my ministry and Italy, and I will further strengthen ties and cooperation with our allies so that we can protect ourselves together," he said.
The episode also raises a practical question for European governments: how to protect senior officials whose personal data — addresses, phone numbers, family details — can be bought and sold online. The sale of confidential information about public officials is itself a crime in Italy, and Meloni's framing of it as a matter "of great concern" suggests Rome will press the issue with allies.
Why this matters beyond Italy. The targeting of a foreign minister is a step up from the denial-of-service attacks and website defacements that pro-Russian groups have aimed at European institutions for years. Publishing a minister's personal data — and offering money for more — is designed to intimidate, not just to disrupt. If it works, it changes the cost of taking a public position on Ukraine for every official on the list.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Antonio Tajani?
Tajani is Italy's foreign minister and deputy prime minister. He is a veteran of Italian and European politics and a close ally of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, whose government has been one of Ukraine's strongest supporters in Europe.
What exactly was published about him?
According to Tajani and to Reuters, his personal data was published on a section of the dark web accessible through the Tor network. The precise contents have not been made public, and the hackers are reported to be seeking further information about him and his family, offering to pay for it.
Who is blamed for the attack?
Tajani and Meloni describe the hackers as pro-Russian and link the targeting to Italy's support for Ukraine. The Italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano identified the group as NoName057(16) and described it as believed to have links to Russian military intelligence. Moscow has not commented, and Russia consistently denies involvement in cyberattacks abroad. The group attribution has not been independently confirmed.
Was anyone else targeted?
Yes. Screenshots seen by Reuters showed a list of 18 people described as "citizens hostile to the Russian Federation", including cybersecurity experts. Italian media named Rome's chief prosecutor, the head of the Postal Police and the mayor of Aviano among them.
What happens next?
Further investigations are under way, according to a person close to the minister, and Rome prosecutors have opened a file. Watch for any statement from Italy's cybersecurity agency, for whether more of the listed officials speak publicly, and for any European Union response — including whether the incident is raised at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers.
Key takeaways
- Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani says pro-Russian hackers published his personal data on the dark web and are offering money for more about him and his family.
- He links the targeting to Italy's support for Ukraine — a position Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni shares and defended publicly.
- Screenshots seen by Reuters show Tajani among 18 people listed as "citizens hostile to the Russian Federation"; Italian media link the case to the group NoName057(16), an attribution that is reported, not independently confirmed.
- The incident fits a wider pattern: a cyberattack on the Brenner tunnel company, the hacking of Ukraine's air-raid alert system, and an attack on the Kyiv Independent all took place within three weeks.
- Rome prosecutors have opened a file; the Foreign Ministry says it will keep strengthening its cyber defences and cooperation with allies.
The next test of the story will be what the investigations find — and whether the dark-web listing produces further disclosures. For now, Tajani's message is defiance: he says he will not be intimidated, and that Italy's support for Ukraine will not change.
