AfD targeted in a cyberattack / Approximately 421,000 emails may have been published online, with their authenticity unconfirmed

Cristina Petrache

20 October 2026, 12:48

International

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The German Alternative for Germany (AfD) party was targeted in a cyberattack in September 2026, in which unknown individuals allegedly copied messages from several email accounts and published approximately 421,000 messages online. The attack targeted the party’s hosting infrastructure, but the scale and authenticity of the data leak have not been confirmed.

An AfD spokesperson confirmed to Die Zeit that parts of several accounts had been illegally copied. According to the party, most of the affected addresses had not been used for years, while the current accounts of the federal leadership were not compromised.

Bild reports that the alleged perpetrators of the leak claim the messages came from ten accounts. Among them was reportedly one associated with former AfD leader Alexander Gauland and an account previously listed as a contact point for the party’s federal headquarters.

The AfD says the attack was detected and stopped quickly, and that the people concerned were informed afterward. The investigation is continuing, while it remains unclear whether all the published messages are authentic or whether the volume of data corresponds to reality. The case once again highlights the vulnerability of political parties to cyberattacks.

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Context: AfD surged rapidly in the polls and triggered strong public reactions after its victory in Saxony-Anhalt

Before the cyber incident, AfD had recorded political gains that brought it to the center of the national debate. The party reached approximately 30% in voting intentions in an INSA poll published by Bild, while the CDU/CSU led by Friedrich Merz fell to 18%.

At the same time, AfD’s victory in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in June was followed by large mobilizations against the party, with approximately 150,000 people protesting in around 20 cities. In the Bundestag, Merz launched a harsh public attack against AfD, accusing the party of promoting “remigration” as a form of “ethnic cleansing,” after AfD had obtained nearly 44% of the votes in the regional election.

Ideologically, AfD had also revised its foreign-policy position: a strategic document reviewed by Reuters showed that the party was considering abandoning its traditional opposition to Germany’s membership in the European Union and the eurozone, proposing to reform them in the direction of a “union of sovereign nations.”