Headquarters: Milan

How cyber mercenaries spy on the secrets of the elite

Hackers, spyware, bribes, "moles": a private detective agency in Milan did not shy away from illegal means and collected compromising information on Italy's political, social and economic elites.(Bild: Justlight - stock.adobe.com)

Politicians, entrepreneurs, journalists, celebrities, employees of authorities and banks: Italy is currently being rocked by what is probably one of the biggest data scandals ever uncovered. "We can expose the whole of Italy", boasted the Milan-based company Equalize in internal phone calls. No fewer than 800,000 people had been screened in order to create potentially compromising secret dossiers on them. A search for clues.

The threads came together not far from Milan Cathedral. With a man who would never be suspected of being the head of a criminal organization: Carmine Gallo was revered as a "super cop" in the 1990s and made a name for himself investigating the Calabrian mafia, the 'Ndrangheta. Now he is accused of being part of a criminal gang - as managing director of the private detective agency Equalize, which belongs to a rich Milanese businessman with political ambitions and apparently compiled secret dossiers on tens of thousands of Italians for years. It was material with the potential for a "coup", warned Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. The clients: diverse, from jealous spouses to nebulous mafiosi and entrepreneurs to foreign intelligence services. The methods: Hacking, bribes and blackmail. Krone+ shows you the hidden world of private cyber mercenaries - which also exist in Austria.