Prosecutor seeks information from YSK, Interior Ministry over massive data leak

ANKARA

A local prosecutor has appealed to the country’s top election body and the Interior Ministry as part of an ongoing investigation into the leak of a database which contained the personal information of nearly 50 million Turkish citizens.

After confirming that the database circulated on the Internet matched files shared by the Supreme Election Board (YSK) with political parties ahead of the March 29, 2009, local elections, the Ankara Chief Prosecutor’s Office has asked for information from both the YSK and the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs of the Interior Ministry, state-run Anadolu Agency reported April 11.

The prosecutor asked the YSK to identify the parties with whom they shared the information ahead of the 2009 election, Anadolu reported, citing sources from the Chief Prosecutor’s Office.

The investigation was opened on April 6, with the Chief Prosecutor’s Office accepting related media reports as evidence.

The investigation is being conducted pursuant to Article 136 of the Turkish Penal Code (TSK), which addresses the “unlawful delivery or acquisition of data,” and Article 243 on “access to data processing systems.”

The prosecutor asked the Directorate General of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs, which stored the identity information of the citizens, who possessed access to the database containing birth records. 

The IP address which released the database was determined to be located in Romania, Anadolu said, noting that the Chief Prosecutor’s Office conveyed a legal assistance document to the Justice Ministry in the expectations of acquiring information from Romanian officials concerning possible suspects.