German suspect in politician data hack says he acted alone
BERLIN — A German student has admitted obtaining and publishing the personal data of hundreds of politicians and celebrities and told investigators he acted alone, authorities said Tuesday.
The 20-year-old lives with his parents and is still in school, said Georg Ungefuk, a spokesman for the Frankfurt prosecutors’ office that specializes in internet crime.
Investigators searched his family’s apartment in central Hesse state Sunday evening before detaining him. The search didn’t immediately turn up “objective indications of any particular political motivation,” Ungefuk said at a televised news conference.
The student has no previous convictions and appeared to regret his actions, Ungefuk said. The suspect, who wasn’t identified in line with German privacy regulations, told investigators “he acted out of annoyance at public statements by the politicians, journalists and public personalities involved,” the spokesman said.