What Happened
In February 2026, hackers breached the intranet of RTL Group, a major European media conglomerate and Bertelsmann broadcasting division with over €6.2 billion in revenue, allegedly exposing personal data of more than 27,000 employees across subsidiaries like Fremantle and M6. The leaked records included full names, job titles, work and personal phone numbers, email addresses, physical work addresses in countries such as Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, with samples verified as legitimate by researchers. Attackers posted the data on a cybercrime forum, prompting RTL Group to confirm awareness and initiate an investigation, noting no customer data impact but highlighting risks like social engineering, journalist targeting, spyware, and GDPR compliance issues.
