Responding to a claim that Russian influence had reached even the foreign ministry's servers, Szijjarto said: "There must be some misunderstanding - it wasn’t the foreign ministry's employee list that was leaked, but the list of Tisza Party activists."

In the interview to Mandiner Stratega on Tuesday, the minister said Tisza had uploaded its activists' data to a database created with Ukrainian involvement. "This database, partially made public, means Ukrainian authorities now have access to it."

"This is a scandal because a country at war can access the most personal data of hundreds of thousands of Hungarian citizens, posing an extraordinary security risk, both to those individuals and to Hungary's sovereignty," he said.

He said the leak exposed a direct attempt to influence Hungary's sovereignty. "The fact that 200,000 Hungarians' sensitive personal data could fall into the hands of a country at war is a security threat whose gravity is not yet fully understood." 

He added that the Tisza Party, which he said supported the "pro-war Brussels agenda", was clearly working to install a government in Hungary that could be manipulated in the interests of war. "This is the real security risk," he declared.

Police investigates Tisza app data leak

The police have launched an investigation, against perpetrators unknown, in connection with a data leak from the opposition Tisza party's Tisza Vilag app, the national investigation office of the rapid-response police (KR NNI) said on the official police.hu website.

The investigation is on suspicion of breach of information systems or data, a felony under Hungarian law, KR NNI said.

KR NNI is cooperating with other authorities to investigate matters requiring special expertise and to establish whether other crimes have also been committed, the statement said.

In view of the ongoing investigation, the police will divulge no further information on the matter, it said.

Orban orders probe into Tisza Party data leak

Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced an immediate investigation into a serious data leak involving the Tisza Party, after the personal data of 200,000 Hungarians ended up in Ukrainian hands.

In a Facebook post with an attached video, Orban said the scandal emerged on Sunday evening, when it emerged that the personal data of 200,000 citizens was published online without their consent.

"We have confirmed that the Tisza Party collected this data. After analysing the database, we determined that Ukrainians were involved in handling it, posing a grave national security risk," he said, adding that he has ordered an urgent investigation into the details of the case.

Gulyas: Tisza 'victim count' reaches 200,000, even in opposition

Even in opposition, the Tisza party's "victims" are now counting 200,000 people, the head of the Prime Minister's Office said on Facebook on Tuesday, referring to a recent data leak.

Gergely Gulyas said: "Name, phone number, address. The personal data and political views of 200,000 Hungarian citizens have become accessible to anyone ... [Tisza] exposed them to phishing sites and cyber-crime."

He said Tisza was bringing "irresponsibility and incompetence ... lies, hate, aggression and danger," adding that the data leak should be a "warning to everyone".

Source: MTI – Hungary’s national news agency since 1881. While MTI articles are usually factual, some may contain political bias, and readers should be aware that such content does not reflect the position of XpatLoop, which is neutral and independent.

Since the goal of XpatLoop is to keep readers well briefed, right across the spectrum of opinions, MTI items are shared to ensure readers are aware of all narratives within the local media.

XpatLoop believes in empowering readers to form their own views through complete and comprehensive coverage. To facilitate this XpatLoop has a balanced range of news partners, as you can see when you surf around XpatLoop.com

*********************************************************************************************

You're very welcome to comment, discuss and enjoy more stories via our Facebook page: 

Facebook.com/XpatLoopNews + via XpatLoop’s groups: Budapest Expats / Expats Hungary

You can subscribe to our newsletter here: XpatLoop.com/Newsletters

Showcase Your Business to Expats in the Loop:

As an independent portal we’re grateful to all commercial supporters who help keep you in the loop with fresh insights and inspiration. Do you want your business to reach tens of thousands of potential high-value expat customers? If so please contact us here.