The Syrian Foreign Ministry has opened an investigation into a leak of documents and correspondence attributed to the ministry which were widely circulated on social media over the past few hours, while an informed source at the ministry denied that the incident was the result of a cybersecurity breach .
An informed source at the Syrian Foreign Ministry told The New Arab that "what happened was not a technical breach of the ministry's systems, but rather a data leak by an employee working within the central administration".
The source stressed that investigations are still underway to uncover the circumstances of the incident and determine responsibility.
The statement came after social media users circulated reports claiming that Syrian government institutions, including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had been hacked, resulting in the leak of data and documents described as "sensitive".
The volume of leaked data is reportedly close to 19 gigabytes and includes scanned documents, correspondence and internal letters, as well as payroll and expenditure records for foreign missions, in addition to data related to the costs of furnishing offices inside Syria and at embassies and diplomatic missions abroad.
The files also reportedly contain diplomatic cables and official correspondence between Syrian embassies and missions.
They allegedly include records relating to Syrian citizens and expatriates, financial documents, receipts, immigration and visa records, and property records.
The Media and Communications Directorate at the Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Syrian state news agency SANA on Wednesday that it had begun to verify and examine the leaked documents and correspondence.
It added that the ministry had begun coordinating with the relevant technical departments and security agencies to conduct a comprehensive investigation aimed at determining the source, method and scope of the leak.
The investigation is intended to pave the way for appropriate legal and judicial measures and to hold accountable anyone found to be involved.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said that its work and consular and diplomatic services are continuing normally, stressing that it will take the necessary measures to protect the security of information and official documents.
It also called on media outlets and citizens to rely on official sources when obtaining information, noting that some of the circulated materials may have been subject to digital manipulation or alteration.