Germany's right-wing AfD party hit by major cyberattack: Report

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) - Germany's right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was targeted in a major cyberattack that allegedly exposed hundreds of thousands of emails, local media reported Tuesday.

According to the AfD, data was allegedly stolen from the party’s email accounts during a hacker attack.

"In September 2026, a hacker attack occurred at a hosting service provider used by our party, during which portions of a few email accounts—most of which had not been used for years—were apparently copied unlawfully," the party told the German daily Bild.

Current email accounts belonging to the party's federal association were reportedly not affected.

Unknown individuals claimed to have published around 421,179 party emails online, although the authenticity of the data remains unclear.

The individuals claimed the information came from 10 email accounts, including one registered to former party leader Alexander Gauland.

Another account was previously used by the party as a contact address for its federal headquarters.

The party said the cyberattack was quickly detected and stopped, and all users were informed.

"The online publication – presumably of a portion of this data – that has now taken place is currently being examined," the party said.