Magyar Nemzet Obtains Exclusive Information on the Gigantic Tisza Data Scandal

Magyar Nemzet has gained access to exclusive information regarding the massive data leak that occurred through the Tisza Party’s mobile application called Tisza Vilag.We obtained an internal chat from a closed Tisza group in which one of the party’s senior IT experts explained to colleagues how the data leak happened. In doing so, he exposed one of Peter Magyar’s lies.

Tisza Vilag app (Photo: Krisztian Mate)

• Magyar Nemzet has obtained exclusive, previously unreleased information from inside a Tisza Party's closed group.
• We have learned about the details of the data leak from the report by one of the party’s top IT experts, Bendeguz Rosta.
• According to his account, as early as October 5 all data of roughly two hundred thousand users of the Tisza Vilag application were leaked.
• After the massive database appeared on several international websites, Tisza's IT team did everything possible to erase the list from all sources, even removing Hungarian posts that could have alerted the public to the unprecedented data leak.
• On Sunday evening, even Tisza’s IT staff did not know how the data had leaked at the beginning of October. That also means Peter Magyar was lying on Sunday evening when he blamed the massive leak on a hacker attack allegedly ordered by Russian intelligence services.

Magyar Nemzet has obtained exclusive, previously unknown details about the Tisza Party’s data leak — information originating from one of the party’s leading IT specialists.

Our newspaper contacted a member of the APP MENTOR Signal group linked to the Tisza Party. The member said the group includes more than one hundred people: some work in the Tisza Party’s IT team, others are non-specialists who had assisted in launching the Tisza Vilag application. It was here, last Sunday, November 2, that the serious revelations first appeared.

What Has Happened So Far

Before presenting the new information, it is important to recall the main events of the Tisza data leak scandal. Only in this context can the significance of these new details be properly understood.

The party’s mobile application, Tisza Vilag, was launched on September 9. Yet within days, a  serious data leak occurred: personal information of nearly twenty thousand Tisza supporters was leaked from the app. The news site Index, which broke the story on October 6, also reported that the Tisza application may have been developed and operated with the involvement of by Ukrainian programmers. Two days later, the Tisza Party claimed it had been attacked by government intelligence agents, saying the “spy” had been removed on September 12. However, it soon became clear that the data leaks did not stop on September 12,  meaning the Tisza Party was not telling the truth about what really happened.

Then, on October 31, four links appeared on the international website LeakBase.la, all leading to a  gigantic dataset. The list, containing two hundred thousand names, was labeled as data from the Tisza Vilag app. A day later, on November 1, a Hungarian tech forum, Prohardver.hu, published a post titled "200,000 Users of Tisza Vilag Have Leaked on LeakBase Forum." The post analyzed the list in detail. The same day, a Reddit post appeared on the topic, with several comments confirming the data had indeed come from Tisza. However, both the Prohardver and Reddit posts disappeared soon after publication.

Then, on Sunday evening, Peter Magyar commented on the issue, claiming that international hackers , backed by Russian intelligence, were responsible for the breach.

Truth Comes to Light

Now let's turn to what the Tisza IT specialists and other members discussed in their private Signal group that Sunday evening. The key part of the discussion began when group members saw media reports, including a detailed article by Magyar Nemzet, about the data leak affecting two hundred thousand names. At that point, a certain Bendeguz Rosta, one of the Tisza Party’s senior IT experts, shared insider information with the group. We located  Rosta's profile on the professional networking site LinkedIn, confirming that he indeed works in software development. From the chat obtained by our newspaper, it is also evident that Rosta was extremely well-informed, with apparent insider knowledge.

Bendeguz Rosta at the Tisza Party Congress in July (first from the left)

Peter Magyar Lied

Responding to media reports, Rosta confirmed that the story was true. He told the group that the database had leaked from Tisza Vilag on October 5, exposing all user data from the app’s two hundred thousand accounts.

Screenshot of the message exchanges in the Tisza Signal group

None of the group members had been aware of this, and they asked Rosta whether the incident was due to an internal leak or an external attack. The IT expert replied that an investigation was underway. That means that by Sunday evening, Tisza’s IT team still had no clear knowledge of the cause. Yet at that very same time, Peter Magyar was publicly claiming on Facebook that the leak resulted from a Russian hacker attack.

Screenshot of the message exchanges in the Tisza Signal group

Something Is Very Wrong with the Tisza Party Leader’s Explanation

The conversation we reviewed contains another highly revealing moment. One Tisza group member warned others to be careful — not to let it become known that the personal data had leaked from the app on October 5. If that were confirmed, the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) could fine the party for failing to report the incident in time. It would be equally embarrassing for Peter Magyar if it turned out that the party had failed to notice such a massive leak for an entire month. That possibility is especially awkward given that Magyar has spent the past few days telling the press that his IT team has been "heroically" fending off Russian cyberattacks for months. If true, the situation would paint Tisza’s technical experts as highly unprofessional — unable to detect for nearly a month that their users’ personal data had leaked.

Screenshot of the message exchanges in the Tisza Signal group

Tisza's Team Tried to Erase Everything

Returning to the closed Signal group: on Sunday, Rosta also described in detail how the party’s IT staff tried to remove all traces of the data leak. He said that a Tisza Sziget (Island) group member had both Reddit posts deleted immediately, while he personally had the Prohardver forum entry removed through a personal contact within roughly an hour and a half. (We should add that this was still not fast enough, as Magyar Nemzet staff read the post before its deletion, and its key findings are included in our reporting on the data leak. Rosta also informed the group that the leaked database had been taken down from the four foreign sites. However, he warned that once data appears online, it can never be fully erased, meaning the list could still be accessible elsewhere at any time.

Screenshot of the message exchanges in the Tisza Signal group

Outrage Among Tisza Members

Despite the IT expert’s account, group members expressed disappointment and dismay over yet another leak. One user remarked that the scandal casts a dark shadow over the Tisza Party, while another said that even if they continue heir outreach campaign, people will now be reluctant to share personal data with the party. Several criticized the Tisza app itself, calling it "weak" and "embarrassing."