The leak of sensitive documents from Syria’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates has sparked widespread controversy after files including diplomatic cables, official correspondence, salary records, and personal data of citizens and expatriates were exposed.
The documents, most of which relate to the period following the fall of the former regime in December 2024, were published on a Telegram channel created for that purpose. The incident opened debate over the digital security of Syria’s sovereign institutions during the transitional phase.
The leaked data is close to 19 gigabytes and includes scanned documents, internal correspondence and letters, payroll records, payments for overseas missions, and data related to the cost of furnishing offices inside Syria and at embassies and diplomatic missions abroad.
According to Enab Baladi’s review, the files also contained diplomatic cables and official correspondence between Syrian embassies and missions, in addition to records related to Syrian citizens and expatriates, financial documents, receipts, immigration and visa documents, and real estate records.
Foreign Ministry Vows to Pursue Those Involved
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates confirmed that its relevant departments immediately began taking the necessary measures to verify and audit what was circulated regarding leaked documents and correspondence attributed to it, in line with established procedures and standards.
The ministry’s Media and Communication Department said in a clarification carried by the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) that the ministry had begun coordinating with the relevant technical departments and security agencies to conduct a comprehensive investigation to determine the source, mechanism, and scope of the leak, paving the way for appropriate legal and judicial measures to address the incident, contain its effects, and hold anyone proven to be involved accountable under applicable laws and regulations.
The department reassured the public that the ministry’s work, duties, and consular and diplomatic services were continuing normally, and that it would take all measures needed to protect information security, safeguard official documents, and preserve the interests of the state and its institutions, while continuing to inform the public of related developments through official channels.
The Media and Communication Department stressed the need to rely on official sources for information and to be aware that some circulated materials may have been digitally manipulated or altered, which could mislead public opinion or present an inaccurate picture of the facts.
Meanwhile, an informed source at the ministry denied to media outlets that the incident resulted from a cyberattack, noting that what happened was not a technical breach of the ministry’s systems but rather a data leak by an employee working in the ministry’s administrative office, according to the source.
Internal Threats and Governance Safeguards
Web science and data management specialist Mohammad Tawfiq Nahlawi told Enab Baladi that data can become a dangerous weapon if it falls into the wrong hands.
What happened in the leak of information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates clearly reveals that the absence of a data management culture, which is not the responsibility of the IT department alone, along with weak commitment to professional ethics, created the core vulnerability, according to Nahlawi.
Nahlawi believes the incident is a warning that calls for a comprehensive review of the information governance system. Today, data is considered a sovereign asset more important than money, and leaking it, especially if it includes diplomatic correspondence and personal data, causes long-term political and psychological damage that is difficult to repair.
The available information indicates that the breach occurred through direct physical access to devices, Nahlawi said, highlighting weak control over permissions and the danger of internal threats, whether through negligence or deliberate leaking. Therefore, protecting data is an institutional responsibility across all administrative departments and is not limited to IT departments.
An Expert View on Protecting the “Sovereign Asset”
In this context, the data management specialist said that protecting information security at any institution does not require astronomical budgets as much as it requires administrative firmness that imposes a strict culture treating information as a sovereign asset no less important than money or weapons.
Nahlawi explained that adopting simple and low-cost procedures, supported by rapid protection measures, can be a decisive factor in securing data across three main levels. The first begins at the production stage, by imposing mandatory security classification for every document and immediately encrypting sensitive data from the moment it is created.
The second applies to the storage phase, by strengthening physical security through banning the use of external storage media, closing device ports, securing servers, and segmenting data to prevent broad access in the event of a breach.
The third concerns processing and circulation, Nahlawi said, requiring the activation of access controls and audit logs to accurately track data movement and identify who accessed it and when.
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