Interior Ministry questioned in Parliament over e-Devlet security vulnerability: “Has the personal data of 85 million citizens been leaked?”

DEVA Party Istanbul MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu questioned the Ministry of Interior through an application filed under the 'Personal Data Protection Law' regarding allegations that emerged in June 2023, claiming that all identity information, home addresses, phone numbers, bank account details, as well as land registry and other private information contained in e-Devlet had been seized in violation of the KVKK (Personal Data Protection Law) and the TCK (Turkish Penal Code) and published on a website named “sorgupaneli.org”.

In a statement following his application, Yeneroğlu noted that the seizure or leakage of personal data poses a major danger to the legal security of our citizens.

Furthermore, mentioning that personal data has fallen into the hands of malicious individuals, Yeneroğlu stated that this information is being sold via social media applications for 500 TL. Emphasizing that journalists who previously reported on this issue have been prosecuted, Yeneroğlu asked the Ministry in his application which personal data was processed within this program, from which sources this data was obtained, to which third parties in Turkey or abroad the processed data was transferred, whether there is any data regarding the leakage of this information, and if it was leaked, what the consequences of the leakage were.

(Mustafa Yeneroğlu)

Yeneroğlu also emphasized that if the response provided by the ministry is found insufficient or if the application is not answered within the legal timeframe, they will file a complaint with the Personal Data Protection Board.

"TWO PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS REMAINED UNANSWERED"

While the outcome of this application to the Ministry of Interior is awaited, Mustafa Yeneroğlu first drew attention to this issue on April 25, 2022. Yeneroğlu, who directed the question, “Has any action or procedure been taken to resolve the problem of identity information theft, which constitutes a national security vulnerability?” to the then-Minister of Justice Bekir Bozdağ, did not receive a response to his questions. On June 12, 2023, this time to Minister of Justice Yılmaz Tunç, Yeneroğlu asked about the issue of personal data leakage and whether there was any judicial or administrative investigation into the matter, but his questions were again left unanswered.

In recent days, DEVA Party Chairman Ali Babacan also addressed the grievances of citizens regarding the theft of personal data, which has been brought to the agenda on social media, during a press conference, drawing attention to the importance of the issue by asking whether state institutions have initiated comprehensive audits and whether any precautions have been taken regarding the security vulnerability.

In his application to the Ministry of Interior, Istanbul MP Mustafa Yeneroğlu directed the following questions to the ministry;

Within the scope of the information leaked from the e-Devlet system;

a. Whether my personal data was processed specifically within this program,

b. If it is being processed, which of my personal data was processed,

c. From which sources my processed data was obtained,

d. For what purposes and for how long my processed data has been processed,

e. To which third parties residing in Turkey or abroad my processed data was transferred,

f. The consequences that arose for or against me due to the values obtained as a result of analyzing my processed data in information systems, or due to these values being shared with your Ministry or another institution,

g. Whether any information has been reached regarding whether my personal data was leaked or stolen from the e-Devlet system,

h. If my personal data was leaked, by whom it was leaked; if it was stolen, the identification of who stole it and whether there is any judicial or administrative investigation regarding the individuals involved.