The German theft on the internet

About twelve million Germans have had their email account on the internet checked, after the national information security authorities revealed an alleged massive data theft on the network that is estimated to have affected 16 million access passwords. The head of the Federal Department of Information Security and Information Technology (BSI), Michael Hange, reported today, Wednesday, that of the total accounts checked through a link created by that body, about 884,000 cases of stolen identities have been detected. The BSI has not yet revealed to whom it attributes the data misappropriation so as not to hinder the development of investigations, while German media have claimed that said department had knowledge of the case since December. Hange justified that for weeks they had not alerted about their suspicions, alleging that this could have obstructed the investigation, and indicated that they decided to raise the alarm when they had the tools to assist those affected. The head of the BSI also argued that there were fears that a premature alarm would lead to the appearance of countless false links through which to check personal accounts, for fraudulent purposes. The link through which the review of internet accounts is channeled temporarily collapsed yesterday, Tuesday, due to the avalanche of queries received when the news of the large-scale data theft broke in the media. The BSI has advised all account owners, especially those with the .de domain, the most affected by the theft, to change passwords periodically and also avoid having the same one for different accounts, especially if they are linked to social networks. The department has warned that the massive theft does not only affect accounts in Germany, but also in various countries of the European Union, whether with the .de or .com domain. According to analyses still underway, a network of spy robots or botnet was used for the password theft, with which computers can be infected en masse, accounts cloned and, from there, used for false purchases or internet fraud.