Russian hackers, money for information on Tajani, Lo Voi and Gabrielli: private data already on the dark web

With Lo Voi and Gabrielli, the list strikes a particularly raw nerve. These are not just any two names. To understand why, we need to go back to the summer of 2025. Between 14 and 17 July, Operation Eastwood – the international operation against the NoName collective coordinated by Europol and Eurojust – was launched. It involved twelve countries, including Italia.

In Italia, the case is being handled by the Rome Public Prosecutor’s Office and the Postal Police. Prosecutors and investigators from CNAIPIC, a division of the Postal Police, are meticulously piecing together the roles of around ten individuals linked to the collective’s network.

Now the tables have turned. It is the hacker group at the centre of the investigation that is seeking information on the prosecutor – who has led sensitive anti-Mafia investigations in Palermo – and on the head of the Postal Police.

Gabrielli, in particular, is a high-profile target. In the cyber world, he is regarded as one of Europe’s leading investigators in the field, with a profile of international standing. And he is one of the few law enforcement officials to have come under NoName’s scrutiny. Seeking out his details means bringing the collective’s pressure directly to bear on those who oppose its activities.

The same report also names other figures from the institutions involved in Operation Eastwood. The list includes the Austrian Michael Schmid, President of Eurojust. Then there is the Lithuanian Edvardas Šileris, Director of Europol’s European Cybercrime Centre. And there is the German Benjamin Krause, a senior prosecutor at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Frankfurt am Main.

For them, too, the method is the same as that used against Italian targets: NoName publishes their private information and offers money in exchange for further details. The list thus extends to the top brass of the organisations that coordinated the international operation against the group.

Alongside representatives from the institutions are three German investigative journalists: Sergej Maier of RTL Deutschland, Angelique Geray and Michael Alexander Martens. The list therefore extends beyond the judicial authorities and cybercrime enforcement agencies to the world of journalism.

According to Tajani, the publication of the data on the dark web comes on top of a diplomatic row that has been ongoing for some time. The Foreign Minister had raised the risk of Russian interference in the 2027 Italian elections. Maria Zakharova, spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry, has attacked him on several occasions.

On 8 October, Zakharova dismissed those allegations as ‘unfounded’ and accused Tajani of playing the ‘Russia card’. On the same day, the Italian Foreign Ministry’s website was hit by DDoS attacks from NoName.

DDoS attacks are cyberattacks designed to render a website inaccessible by flooding it with requests until it becomes overloaded. In the minister’s case, therefore, the attacks on the institution’s website were accompanied by the disclosure of his personal contact details, along with an offer of money in exchange for further information.

NoName is linked to the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, and is responsible for the DDoS campaigns currently sweeping across Europe. With the ‘list of eighteen’, the pressure is being directed straight at individuals: government officials, judges, those responsible for combating cybercrime, and journalists.

The list adds another element to an already tense situation, marked in recent days by false bomb alerts on European aircraft and cyber-attacks targeting supermarket refrigerators across the European Union. This is the picture of the hybrid war against Italia and Europe, in which cyber threats, intimidation and other forms of destabilisation intertwine.

These incidents are overshadowed by the theory that Russia may be behind them, with links potentially extending all the way to the highest levels of the Kremlin. Whether there was any coordination remains a matter of speculation. The publication of private data on NoName’s ‘Tribunal’ is already a reality. Moscow, however, denies this.

The news that a list of 18 European public figures had been targeted by the NoName hackers was first reported this morning (Saturday 7 November) in the newspaper *Il Sole 24 Ore* and on *IlSole24Ore.it*. The Foreign Minister therefore chose to speak out, confirming that ‘for days now, his personal data has been circulating on the dark web’ and assuring that he ‘will not be intimidated in any way’, in light of the apparent link between the attacks and the Italian government’s support for Ukraine. ‘Cybercriminals have been circulating my personal data on the dark web for days and are seeking further information, effectively exposing me to new threats and intimidation,’ the Deputy Prime Minister stated on X, ‘they are also targeting my family and are prepared to pay for further details about me and my loved ones. My response is very simple: I will not be intimidated in any way. I will continue to work to defend my ministry and Italia, and I will further strengthen ties and cooperation with our allies so that we can protect one another.”

“Our stance on Ukraine is the political reason why I have come under fire: defending the freedom of a sovereign state and taking a clear stand in favour of a nation’s democracy and independence is dangerous to these criminal organisations,” Tajani continued, “they are also acting in response to the measures we have been implementing for months to safeguard the Foreign Ministry’s cyber security.” “At the Farnesina, we are working hard to counter these threats: on 1 January, I set up a ‘cyber directorate’ to protect us from cyber-attacks by individuals often linked in some way to state entities hostile to us,” the Foreign Minister recalled, “we are operational and we are working closely with our allies.” “Our decision, my mission, have been fulfilled: we will continue to defend our security and protect ourselves from cybercriminals,” concluded Tajani, “in the conviction that this is the right way to safeguard the Italian people and our country.”