Earlier this week, hackers published an enormous database online containing the personal information of roughly 50 million Turkish citizens. Included on the list was personal information concerning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as that of his predecessor, Abdullah Gul.
While some experts initially cast doubt on the authenticity of the information, the Associated Press verified the leak by cross-referencing 10 of the non-public ID numbers with names on the list.
Of those ten, eight were confirmed.
While the Turkish government initially downplayed the security breach, it quickly launched a formal investigation on Wednesday.
According to Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag, the leading suspect at the moment is a member – or members – of a rival political party that would have had access to the nation’s electoral register.
"The Supreme Election Board is also in possession of identity data and it shares it with political parties," he said, according to Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily.
"It is a matter that should be investigated, and I believe prosecutors will conduct a comprehensive inquiry."
If Turkish citizens or government members are found guilty, they would face a minimum of two years in prison for the release of personal data and would likely face additional charges related to hacking.
Early indications show that the data is on a website hosted by an Icelandic group that maintains servers in Romania. Not only is this a problem for the government conspiracy hypothesis, but also suggests that whoever is responsible is beyond Turkish jurisdiction.
Along with the data, the hackers also posted tips for the Turkish government to improve its cybersecurity.
"Bit shifting isn’t encryption," was posted, along with, "Index your database. We had to fix your sloppy DB [database] work," and, "Putting a hardcoded password on the UI [user interface] hardly does anything for security."
The hackers also included a message directed at the Turkish people.
"Who would have imagined that backwards ideologies, cronyism and rising religious extremism in Turkey would lead to a crumbling and vulnerable technical infrastructure?" reads the post.
The post included the exhortation: "Do something about Erdogan! He is destroying your country beyond recognition."
