The key facts

  • According to Bild, citing the AfD, the attack on the hosting provider occurred in September 2026
  • Unknown actors claimed to have published around 421,179 emails from 10 accounts, including the account of Alexander Gauland
  • The authenticity of the published data remains unclear; the current accounts of the federal association were not affected

Hacker attack on the party's email accounts

The right-wing German party 'Alternative for Germany' (AfD) suffered a large-scale cyberattack, as a result of which, reportedly, hundreds of thousands of emails may have been exposed. Local media reported this on Tuesday. As the party told the outlet Bild, in September 2026 a hacker attack occurred at the hosting provider used by the party, during which parts of several email accounts were 'apparently illegally copied,' most of which had not been used for years.

Publication of the data and its authenticity

Unknown persons claimed to have published around 421,179 party emails on the internet. According to them, the data was obtained from 10 email accounts, including one registered to former party leader Alexander Gauland, and another that the party had previously used as the contact address of its federal headquarters. The authenticity of the published data remains unclear.

The party's reaction

According to the party, the current email accounts of the federal association were not affected. The AfD stated that the attack was quickly detected and stopped, and all users were informed. 'The online publication — presumably of parts of this data — which has now taken place is currently being examined,' the party said.