Almost 800 Hungarian government email passwords are circulating online in breach dumps, many associated with national security, new research has found.
Bellingcat has uncovered widespread cybersecurity lapses within Hungary’s government, revealing that hundreds of official email credentials were exposed due to weak password practices across multiple ministries. The investigation identified 795 unique email and password combinations in breach databases, affecting 12 out of the country’s 13 ministries.
The majority of compromised credentials – 641 out of 795 – were linked to four key institutions: the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Ministry of National Economy. These exposures stemmed largely from government employees using their official email addresses to register on third-party platforms, including dating, music, sports, and food services, which were later breached.
Sensitive information associated with these accounts extended beyond login credentials, with some breach datasets containing phone numbers, home addresses, dates of birth, usernames, and IP addresses. In certain cases, the leaked data included details of military personnel and civil servants stationed abroad, raising concerns about national security implications.
The investigation also highlighted the use of extremely weak and predictable passwords among officials. Employees within the Ministry of Interior were found using passwords such as “Arsenal” and “Paprika,” while Ministry of Defence staff credentials appeared in 120 compromised records, including data linked to a 2023 breach of NATO’s eLearning platform.
Further examples revealed troubling patterns. A colonel specializing in information security reportedly used the password “FrankLampard,” while a district director relied on “123456aA.” A senior member of Hungary’s NATO delegation used a password translating to “cute,” and a brigadier general registered for a public event using a simple nickname derived from his own name.
Within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which accounted for 107 exposed credential sets, employees frequently used passwords such as “porsche911,” “frogger,” and “Batman2013.” A deputy state secretary reportedly used “snoopy,” while others relied on birthdates or even the Hungarian word for “password” (“Jelszo”).
The Ministry of National Economy also faced repeated exposure incidents, with one senior advisor’s credentials appearing in four separate breaches under different passwords, including the offensive term “Kurvaanyad1.”
Although many of the breaches peaked around 2021, compromised data has continued to surface through 2026. Evidence from stealer logs suggests that at least 97 machines across Hungarian government departments may have been infected, indicating more recent security incidents beyond historical breaches.
The findings come just ahead of Hungary’s parliamentary election, where Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is seeking to secure another term in office. Despite the scale of the exposure, Bellingcat reported that it did not receive any response from the Hungarian government’s spokesperson or the Prime Minister’s office regarding the findings.
The revelations underscore ongoing challenges in enforcing strong cybersecurity practices within government institutions, particularly as threat actors increasingly exploit weak credentials to gain access to sensitive systems and data.
Recommended Cyber Technology News :
- GitHub, Jira Emails Exploited for Stealth Phishing Attacks
- 75% of UAE Cyberattacks Caused by Phishing Emails
- Chrome Adds Device-Bound Credentials to Stop Cookie Theft
To participate in our interviews, please write to our CyberTech Media Room at info@intentamplify.com
