Italian authorities have arrested a brother and sister in Rome for allegedly running a years-long cyber-spying operation that targeted nearly 18,000 victims, including high-profile figures such as European Central Bank President Mario Draghi and former Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.
The suspects, identified by local media as Giulio Occhionero, a nuclear engineer, and Francesca Maria Occhionero, were well-known in Rome’s financial community. They are accused of accessing information concerning national security, illicitly accessing computer systems, and illegally intercepting computer communications. The data allegedly obtained by the siblings was stored on U.S. servers, which have been seized by the FBI Cyber Division.
Giulio Occhionero’s lawyer, Stefano Parretta, has stated that his client denies any involvement in espionage, claiming that he had “servers abroad for work.” However, Italian news agency ANSA reported that court documents quoted by Bloomberg indicated that the alleged hackers acted “with the aim of making a profit for themselves or for others.”
Roberto Di Legami, head of the specialized police cyber unit, revealed that Giulio Occhionero used malware to infect thousands of email accounts belonging to bankers, businessmen, and Vatican cardinals, allowing him to make “investments based on reserved information.” According to law-enforcement officials cited by Politico, Occhionero was a high-ranking member of a masonic lodge and had been shortlisted for Master Mason. It is believed that he planned to sell data on leading figures in the Italian establishment.
The operation was uncovered after an infected email was sent to an administrator at ENAV, Italy’s air traffic control company. A report from the company to Italy’s National Center for Cyber Crime led to the investigation and subsequent arrests.
