A staggering data breach exposed the personal information of 85 million Turkish citizens. Hackers obtained data from the E-Government system, which is used for various official transactions. This data was then sold on the dark web, used for various fraudulent activities including creating fake university degrees and electronic signatures.
The breach facilitated widespread fraud, including the issuance of thousands of fake university diplomas. High-ranking officials and even the grandson of the last Ottoman Sultan were implicated. Despite the scale of the crime, those responsible for the data breach remain unpunished. In contrast, individuals reporting on the leak face severe penalties including imprisonment.
The article highlights a broader pattern of corruption and impunity in Turkey, particularly emphasizing the lack of accountability for officials and the suppression of dissent. This includes instances of financial impropriety by Imams, and the arbitrary annulment of political opponents’ credentials. The increase in fraud cases (from 8,808 in 2003 to 911,695 in 2024) is linked to both the weakening rule of law and economic hardship.
The government's response to the data breach and related issues has been criticized for prioritizing the suppression of dissent over accountability. Those reporting on the data leak face severe penalties, while those responsible for the security failures remain unpunished.
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