Redhack divulges Turkcell numbers after company changes disclosed ministers’ phones

ISTANBUL

The draft law will enhance the monitoring of any Internet user’s activities as well as allow officials to limit keywords more easily.

Redhack has revealed the cellular phone numbers of more than 4,000 Turkcell personnel after accusing the cell phone operator of changing the numbers of ministers and MPs that were disclosed earlier as the company dismissed any privileged treatment. 

The Turkish hacker group divulged the numbers of ministers and deputies during the debate session at the Parliament of the government’s new law on the Internet. It then alleged that their numbers had been changed by the company after the phones were paralyzed, while the company said the service provided was a standard one. 

“We attach importance to providing the best and fastest service to our clients. The change of numbers is a standard service that all Turkcell clients can have automatically as they request it via Turkcell call centers,” the company said in a statement. 

Along with ministers and deputies, the group also published the number of the son of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Bilal Erdoğan, and Rasim Ozan Kütahyalı, a staunchly pro-government daily Sabah in protest of the draft law.

The bill was put on the agenda amid an ongoing graft scandal that stirred considerable debate as it would enhance the monitoring of any Internet user’s activities as well as allow officials to limit keywords more easily.

Many groups came out against the bill, denouncing a “violation of privacy,” despite the government claiming that the reform would bring Turkey to the “standards of developed countries.”

The fresh bill could also revive the activism against authorities’ grip on the Internet, as several demonstrations using the slogan “don’t touch my Internet” had previously attracted thousands of protesters.