washington — The personal data of hundreds of journalists in Mexico was stolen and released in late January, Mexican officials announced this week, in a massive leak that underscores security concerns in a country considered among the most dangerous in the world for reporters.
International press freedom groups said the leak could put journalists at risk.
At least 324 journalists were affected by the leak, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which called for an immediate investigation into the incident. All the impacted journalists had registered with the office of the Mexican presidency to cover President Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s live weekday morning broadcasts.
The information that was leaked and posted on a website included journalists’ full names and their CURP code, which is similar to a social security number. The leak also included copies of passports and voter ID cards, the latter of which is particularly concerning since they include addresses.
“This information is supposed to be kept confidential and safe by the presidential press office,” Balbina Flores, the Mexico representative at Reporters Without Borders, told VOA.
“Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries to be a journalist, and for this data to be circulating, that puts all the journalists in danger,” Flores added.
Journalists first reported the leak on January 26. At a January 29 news conference, López Obrador said his administration was investigating the leak, and other government officials said the information had been taken from an “inactive government website” on January 22.
The perpetrator used a username and password of a former government employee through a Spanish IP address, officials said.
Journalists from the international news outlet Reuters were among those whose information was released in the leak.
“The safety of our journalists is paramount, and we are deeply troubled by this leak of personal data. We await the results of the investigation by Mexico’s transparency institute, which we hope will be prompt and thorough,” a Reuters spokesperson said.
The CPJ called on Mexican authorities to identify the perpetrator and review the security of its systems holding sensitive personal information.
“It is shocking that the personal information of hundreds of reporters can be so easily extracted from government systems and made publicly available, especially considering the many threats and harassment reporters covering the president have been subjected to,” Jan-Albert Hootsen, CPJ’s Mexico representative, said in a statement.
Mexico is considered the deadliest country for journalists outside war zones. At least 163 reporters have been killed in the country since 2000, according to the free speech group Article 19.
Some information in this report came from Reuters.
