López Obrador admits hacking of data of more than 300 journalists who go to his conference

The Mexican president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, acknowledged this Monday the hacking of the Presidency’s servers that led to the leak of personal data of more than 300 journalists who attend his morning conferences, known as ‘mañaneras’.

“They already hacked the morning computers, it was hacking“, indicated the president in his daily press conference.

“We must find a way, first, to know what happened, who hacked, a report is going to be prepared today, it is going to be delivered, but we do not have any authoritarian desire. Yes, the data is taken care of, but hacks happen”he added.

The security consultancy SILKIN revealed over the weekend that a database of the Presidency’s Press Accreditation System was leaked in clandestine forums, with details of more than 300 journalists, including passports, identifications, the Federal Taxpayer Registry (RFC). , addresses and telephone numbers.

The organization Article 19, which defends press freedom, warned that “With Mexico being one of the deadliest countries against the press, with 163 journalists murdered and 32 missing, the leak violates not only their dignity and privacy, but also their physical safety.”.

But López Obrador blamed the “hacking” to the “network of opponents to the transformation”, that is, to leaders linked to opposition parties.

“Remember that our adversaries have a lot of money and can hire the most specialized criminals in this area in the world.“, held.

The president promised to investigate, punish those responsible and send a report to the National Institute of Transparency, Access to Information and Protection of Personal Data (Inai).

But he also said that it is part of a “war dirty” that seeks to undermine his Government before the presidential elections on June 2.

“We have to take care of all citizens and journalists. But why do they do it? Why is it hacking? To try to sow the idea that we persecute, censor, are dictators”, he commented.