In a shocking development, four individuals have been formally charged in connection with an extensive hacking scandal that has rocked Italy to its core. The scandal involved a relentless breach of a national security database over several years, ultimately resulting in the exposure of sensitive information belonging to high-profile figures such as Italian President Sergio Mattarella and former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, alongside potentially hundreds of thousands of other individuals.
The perpetrators reportedly exploited various tactics to gain unauthorized access to the classified data. These methods ranged from bribery of law enforcement officials to the deployment of remote access trojans (RATs) on servers and even infiltration of personnel responsible for maintaining the interior ministry’s computer system. The extent of their operation is believed to have spanned at least five years, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.
At the heart of this scandal lies a private investigations firm known as Equalize, led by Carmine Gallo, a former top police officer, in collaboration with Enrico Pazzali, president of Fondazione Fiera Milano, an Italian trade conference firm. Among those charged alongside Gallo were Nunzio Samuele Calamucci, who had previously claimed to have breached the Pentagon with the Anonymous hacktivist collective, and a team of software engineers who aided in the development and maintenance of databases for the Interior Ministry.
Massimiliano Camponovo, a private investigator, and Giulio Cornelli, the owner of a technology and security firm, were also implicated in the scandal and subsequently placed under house arrest. The targets of this illicit operation included prominent figures such as former Milan Mayor Letizia Moratti, AC Milan Chairman Paolo Scaroni, renowned journalists, and even popular singer Alex Britti, among others.
Reports suggest that the stolen data was either sold to clients or utilized for extortion purposes from 2019 up until March 2024, generating over €3.1 million in profits for the hackers. Calamucci, as revealed in wiretap conversations, boasted of possessing a staggering 800,000 files and 15TB of sensitive information extracted from police databases, including records of financial transactions, private bank dealings, and ongoing police investigations.
Furthermore, allegations have surfaced regarding attempts to tarnish the reputations of individuals such as Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, an heir to the Luxottica eyewear fortune, and former Lehman Brothers banker Matteo Arpe. Both have vehemently denied any involvement in the scandal, with Del Vecchio accused of requesting Equalize to surveil his family members as part of a financial dispute.
The fallout from this unprecedented breach has prompted demands for a thorough investigation into the security protocols of the Interior Ministry, with cleanup operations and task forces already in motion. While efforts are underway to mitigate the immediate repercussions of the breach, the ramifications of this cybersecurity incident are expected to linger as legal proceedings unfold. The full extent of the damage caused by this brazen act of hacking may only become clear in the days and weeks to come.