Hackers publish data on Swiss hooligans on dark web

Hooligan violence at football and ice hockey games continues to be a problem in Switzerland. Keystone / Jean-christophe Bott

The details of over 750 Swiss hooligans registered in a federal database have been published on the dark web, the authorities say. This follows an attack on the servers of IT service provider Xplain in early June.

“Following the ransomware attack on the IT provider Xplain, of which the Federal Office of Police (Fedpol) is a client, an extract from the HOOGAN information system dating from 2015 has resurfaced among the leaked and published data,” Fedpol said on Wednesday in a statementExternal link.

Data on 766 people from the HOOGAN databaseExternal link, a register of known hooligans, from September 2015 has been stolen and published on the dark web. The published file does not provide any information on offences committed or measures against the individuals.

Those affected have been informed in writing, Fedpol said.

Clarifications are underway to understand how the file was transmitted and stored with Xplain, Fedpol said.

+ Hackers get their hands on sensitive Swiss government data

Xplain supplies software for Swiss justice and police authorities. A ransomware attack against Xplain in June led to the publication of sensitive data from the federal police, the army and the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security. Other sensitive data belonging to the federal administration has also been published online.

The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland has opened an investigation, alongside a separate probe by the Federal Data Protection Commissioner. Fedpol has also filed a criminal complaint following the publication of the HOOGAN data.

+ IT security weaknesses ‘expose Switzerland to hacker attacks’

The federal police say the HOOGAN database has not been affected and remains operational.

Swiss hooligans

The level of hooligan violence at football and ice hockey games continues to be a problem in Switzerland.

+ Violence still affects Swiss football and ice hockey games

As of June 2023, 1,017 hooligans were registered in the HOOGAN database. Active measures (obligation to report to a police office, exclusion orders or stadium bans) are ongoing against 332 people. Personal data is retained for a period of three years after a police measure has ceased to be applicable.

At the end of June, the Federal Council set up a crisis cell to coordinate the investigations and measures following the recent cyber-attack.

The government has ordered an investigation by the Federal Department of Finance into the case. Investigators will examine how federal security guidelines were breached and how a private IT supplier had access to sensitive data.