Data Protection Authority Files Police Report Over Tisza Party’s Data Leak

Due to a suspected data protection incident affecting the databases of the Tisza Party, the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) has filed a criminal report with the police and has launched an investigation into the party’s data management practices, as well as into the use of the leaked data that appeared in the media.

The National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH) has filed a criminal complaint with the police over a suspected data protection incident affecting the databases of the Tisza Party, as well as the public disclosure of personal and sensitive data leaked as a result of the incident, according to information obtained by Nepszava.

Attila Peterfalvi, President of the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (Photo: MTI/Zoltan Mathe)

 According to information provided by the NAIH, the data whose publication prompted the authority to turn to the police became accessible on the websites www.tiszavilag.co and www.tisza-lista.com.

In parallel with the criminal complaint, the NAIH has launched several data protection procedures ex officio.

One of the procedures examines whether the Tisza Party adequately protected its databases. Another procedure concerns media service providers that linked in their articles to a map containing the leaked data, or used the personal and sensitive data that became public.

The NAIH did not provide information on the current stage of the investigations or on their expected conclusion.

Following News of the Investigation by the Authority, Peter Magyar staged a dramatic performance

As reported by Magyar Nemzet, the National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information appeared at the Tisza Party, as revealed in a post published on the party leader’s social media page on Tuesday morning. Peter Magyar sought to provoke public outrage but our newspaper contacted the authority, which stated that 

its appearance at the Tisza Party was not unexpected, as the party itself had requested this appointment.

Attila Peterfalvi, President of the NAIH, explained that this is a planned authority procedure, during which information and evidence related to the data protection incident must be collected. He noted that the investigation would have taken place earlier, but the originally proposed date was not suitable for the party.

Background to the Data Leak Incident

It is worth recalling that on October 6, Index was the first to report that data belonging to nearly twenty thousand had been leaked from the party’s mobile application called Tisza Vilag. At the time, the outlet reported not only on the significant data breach, but also on the fact that Ukrainians were involved in the development of the application. Among the administrators, that is, those responsible for operating the mobile application, there was a Ukrainian specialist who works for PettersonApps, a Ukrainian company also engaged in application development. The company’s CEO is a supporter of Volodimir Zelenskyy and, through an NGO, may be involved in efforts to develop drones for the Ukrainian army.

In the days and weeks following the outbreak of the data leak scandal, more than thirty thousand Tisza supporters stopped actively using the mobile application. The first wave occurred immediately after the scandal erupted in early October, while the second sharp drop in usage was detected within the party when it became clear that the explanation involving a so-called Fidesz spy was merely a fabrication.

On October 31, the scandal escalated to a new level: a gigantic volume of data appeared on the internet, containing nearly two hundred thousand names and other data. The list had leaked from Tisza Vilag. On November 2, Peter Magyar spoke out and claimed that the application had been under attack by international hackers since its launch, who were allegedly backed by Russian services. One day later, Peter Magyar spoke again, this time referring to a malicious attack, but no longer mentioning the Russians.

Cover photo: Peter Magyar, President of the Tisza Party (Source: MW)

               

       

       
       

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