Data Breach Exposes Personal Information of Over 3.5 Million Syrian Refugees in Turkey Amid Fatal Violence

Jul 5, 2024, 08:44 PM

Details of more than three million passports were leaked on a Turkish Telegram group that called for violence against Syrians. Personal information of some of the 3.5 million Syrians living in Turkey was leaked by a 14-year-old boy, who has been arrested, government authorities said. Scans of passports belonging to more than 3.3 million Syrian refugees living in Turkey were leaked online amid a week of racially motivated attacks targeting Syrians in multiple cities across the country. Turkey's interior ministry said it determined that a 14-year-old was administering the Telegram channel that leaked scans of passports belonging to more than 3.3 million Syrian refugees living in the country. The data breach comes as Syrian refugees have faced increasing hostility in Turkey, including fatal violence since Sunday. The leaked data now raises fears of further anti-Syrian violence and worries that mobs will use information of addresses to hunt down refugee families and individuals.