Auckland Mayor Phil Goff's family email account has been hacked with deeply personal information and Parliamentary work among the stolen communications.
The emails were taken from 2017 to 2019 and reportedly include fundraising plans for Goff's mayoral bid, "confidential" polling data during last year's campaign and sensitive business details, according to the NZ Herald.
The person claiming to be behind the breach allegedly offered NZME 15,000 of Goff's private emails for $20,000, which they declined.
In a statement, Goff's chief of staff Nirupa George said the mayor assumed the service provider's platform was secure.
"The Mayor has been made aware of an alleged hack of his family email account.
"While the authenticity of the hack has not been verified, the Mayor has discontinued use of the email account and taken advice from experts.
Police have confirmed they are at the early stages of an investigation.
"Initial enquiries are underway to ascertain what has occurred," they told Newshub.
Internet provider Spark told Newshub when it was made aware of this issue they contacted the customer and suspended the account.
"We are investigating the matter; however, based on our current information we believe this is an isolated issue," a spokesperson said.
