Turkish prosecutor opens probe into 'personal data theft' of millions

Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor has opened an investigation into charges that the personal information of 50 million Turkish citizens has been leaked to the Internet.

Previously on Tuesday, the American Associated Press agency reported that hackers claimed to have accessed the personal details of nearly 50 million Turkish citizens and posted them online.

Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ said that the source of the mass leak should be verified.

"Turkey has a personal data protection law which guarantees personal data protection as an institutional right, in force. Fifty million people is a very big number. We will take all measures to avoid an incident like this. This incident occurred in 2010, as Minister Yıldırım previously indicated," said the minister.

Previously on Tuesday, the Transport, Maritime Affairs and Communications Minister Binali Yıldırım said that it was not a current incident and the same allegations were made in 2010.

If the allegations are confirmed, it would be one of the biggest public leaks of personal data ever seen, putting two-thirds of the country's population at risk for fraud and identity theft.

Personal information including national identity numbers, addresses, dates of birth and names of parents were all posted online in a downloadable 6.6 GB file, according to the claims.