Germany's investigative police force, the BKA, has nabbed
Please don't kill me!
the hacker responsible for what some have called one of the largest data leaks in Germany's history. The 20-year-old from the western German state of Hesse could now face charges of stealing and illegally publishing private data.
"The suspect was questioned on January 7 by the responsible prosecutor and BKA officials," the BKA announced in a statement. "He extensively confessed to the accusations against him and provided helpful information beyond his own crimes."
According to the BKA, the suspect said he was acting alone, and there are no indications of anyone else or any foreign state being involved. The BKA said the suspect had indicated he was motivated by "anger at the public statements of the politicians, journalists and public figures concerned."
The published material included personal data from Chancellor Angela Merkel
...chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom. Now they make faces at her for inundating the country with Moslems ..
and other politicians, celebrities and journalists. Hundreds of politicians from all political parties except the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) were affected.
But BKA President Holger Munch said authorities were not treating the hack as a political crime and that the suspect had no known ties to right-wing extremism in Germany.
The BKA said the suspect's apartment had been searched on Sunday, after which he was taken into custody. The home of a 19-year-old man in Heilbronn, a town north of Stuttgart, who had contact with the hacker was also searched. He is cooperating with authorities as a witness.
The German government has repeatedly been targeted by hacks in recent years, and calls for Seehofer to resign over his handling of this and other issues are growing louder. The minister stressed that most victims had very little sensitive data stolen.