A prosecutor is accused of leaking confidential information after allegedly having shared sensitive data. Investigators have now received compressed data that contains potentially incriminating information.
The magazine Xataka reports on how Spanish prosecutor Álvaro García Ortiz attempted to delete incriminating messages on WhatsApp. WhatsApp assures its users that their data is secure due to end-to-end encryption.
Nevertheless, investigators obtained WhatsApp chat histories from a relevant time period that could provide incriminating information. The reason: the prosecutor had forgotten to encrypt his backups. Even the best end-to-end encryption cannot help with that.
Anyone who has delved deeper into WhatsApp or their iPhone is familiar with accident detection. In this video, we show you how it works.
Prosecutor allegedly leaked confidential messages
How did the incident occur? Spanish prosecutor Álvaro García Ortiz has been charged with suspicion of leaking secrets, as reported by El Mundo.
The allegation involves the sharing of confidential information, including emails from José María Rodríguez, a prominent businessman in Spain and partner of Isabel Díaz Ayuso. Ayuso is the president of the Madrid region.
Businessman Rodríguez was reportedly involved in a controversy in which he allegedly shared internal communication with the press. Prosecutor Álvaro García Ortiz is also said to have forwarded confidential messages to the press to cause political damage.
As part of the investigations, the emails and WhatsApp messages of prosecutor Álvaro García Ortiz also came under scrutiny. According to a report from RTE, a report from the Central Operational Unit (UCO) indicates that García Ortiz switched his mobile device on October 23, 2024, and deleted his Gmail accounts. These actions are being investigated as part of the ongoing investigations.
WhatsApp and the shadows of justice
How did the investigators obtain the messages? Investigators were able to recover the deleted WhatsApp messages after the Supreme Court in Spain made an official request to Google (Gmail, Google Drive) and Meta (WhatsApp). The goal was to obtain information regarding the devices and accounts of prosecutor Ortiz, including possibly deleted messages.
According to reports from Cadena SER, the request was successfully processed. Two compressed ZIP folders with relevant data were transmitted, which are now being forensically examined. This data includes WhatsApp messages from a specific time period and is currently being reviewed for its exact significance and content.
The forensic investigation is expected to confirm in the coming weeks which messages actually contain relevant information and what they mean for the ongoing investigation.
What happens next? Investigations against García Ortiz are ongoing. It remains to be seen what further evidence will come to light and how it will affect the ongoing trial.
If it turns out that García Ortiz actually leaked confidential information, he could face serious legal consequences. According to the Spanish Penal Code, officials who unlawfully disclose confidential information can be charged under certain offenses such as abuse of power or embezzlement. But for now, the case remains confidential. Investigations continue.
While WhatsApp is known for its encryption, the app also causes significant storage problems for many users. Especially with frequent media exchanges, it can take up to 80 GB of storage on a phone. We explain how to easily disable this storage-hogging “feature” of WhatsApp.
