AfD Data Breach: Hacker Leaks 281 GB of Internal Emails

Germany's far-right AfD has confirmed a security breach after a hacker published 281 GB of stolen internal emails, summarized by AI on a dedicated leak site.

Unboxing TN24 October 20262 min read

AfD data breach illustration showing leaked emails and a hacker accessing a server — Image: bitdefender.com

Germany's far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party has confirmed it suffered a security breach after a hacker published what appear to be hundreds of thousands of its internal emails. The leaked archive, totaling 281 GB, surfaced this week on the Hexane.cc leak site, according to a report by Bitdefender's Graham Cluley.

The party acknowledged that its hosting provider was hacked in September and that some mailboxes were copied. AfD claims most affected mailboxes had not been used for years, but the leaked data reportedly includes messages dated as recently as 12 September 2026.

How the AfD breach happened

Reports suggest the hacker may have gained access through an unpatched website, an embarrassingly simple entry point. However, this detail has not been independently verified. The breach follows an earlier incident on 3 September, when a press spokesman for AfD's Thuringia state parliament group warned that his work email had been used to send phishing emails.

281 GB of stolen messages and files
421,179 internal party emails claimed
More than 100,000 additional files
Messages dated up to 12 September 2026
Leak site: Hexane.cc

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AI summaries raise accuracy concerns

Rather than publishing the emails directly, Hexane.cc displays AI-generated summaries sorted into categories such as racism and antisemitism, graded from Low to Critical. Readers who want the full original email, including headers, attachments and DKIM signatures, must download it via torrent.

Party sources told media the leaked emails appear authentic but the AI summaries contain several inaccuracies. Bitdefender warns that AI has a history of making large mistakes with great confidence, so the summaries should be treated with caution.

What it means for you

The hacker says the leak aims to expose the party's "degeneracy and hypocrisy" and claims someone with a Proton Mail address offered 100,000 Euros to take the leak site down. Bitdefender advises against downloading the torrent: cybercriminals have used trending-topic torrents to distribute malware, and handling stolen personal data can raise legal questions.

For readers in Tunisia, the story is a reminder that email accounts remain a treasure trove of sensitive information, even when unused for years. There is no indication this breach affects Tunisian users directly, but the case highlights the risks of unpatched websites and poorly segmented shared infrastructure.