Italian police arrest four in massive database hacking scandal involving prominent individuals

Italian police have arrested four individuals and are investigating dozens of others, including Leonardo Maria Del Vecchio, son of the Luxottica founder, in a sweeping probe into alleged unauthorized access to state databases. The charges, ranging from unauthorized system access to extortion and conspiracy, cast a shadow on Italy’s security protocols amid concerns of sensitive data misuse.

The investigation targets a complex web of hackers, IT consultants, and private intelligence operatives accused of extracting data from state-run databases. Italian national anti-mafia prosecutor Giovanni Melillo, together with Milan’s chief prosecutor Marcello Viola, described the case as uncovering “a massive market of confidential information,” where clients allegedly accessed data for varied purposes, including espionage and blackmail. Prosecutors suspect that foreign intelligence entities may also have obtained this sensitive information.

Central to the probe is an alleged criminal organization, which includes a former high-ranking police official. Investigators believe the group infiltrated at least three key databases, including one tracking suspicious financial activities, another managed by the national tax agency that stores bank transactions and income statements, and a police investigations database. According to sources close to the investigation, the illegally obtained trove of data exceeds 800,000 records and is believed to have been accessed through commissioned services by external parties.

In a statement, Del Vecchio’s lawyer denied the charges, claiming his client is prepared to cooperate fully to demonstrate his innocence. The lawyer asserted that Del Vecchio was misrepresented in the investigation, framing him as “rather a victim” and noting that a search had already yielded “a negative outcome” in terms of evidence against him.

This case is the latest in a series of high-profile data breaches in Italy. Recently, banking giant Intesa Sanpaolo became the subject of another inquiry after an ex-employee was accused of illicitly viewing the account information of thousands of clients, raising broader concerns about data security across both public and private institutions in the country.