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Dresden Prosecutors Drop Case Over Copied Voter Data, Refer Matter to Data Watchdog

Investigators verified the files had been deleted with no sign of transfer to third parties, making criminal charges unsustainable.

Overview

  • The 55-year-old city system administrator was accused of copying the full voter-notification file containing data on roughly 430,000 registered voters to external storage.
  • Auditors at the city’s IT unit flagged irregular access during routine checks, after which Dresden filed a complaint, terminated the employee and issued a house ban.
  • Between May and October 2024, the suspect allegedly connected private media to municipal systems and transferred about 270,000 files.
  • The suspect told investigators the copying was a stress-related mistake, claimed no external use and said no additional copies were made.
  • Prosecutors closed the criminal probe for lack of provable criminal conduct and forwarded the case to the Saxon data-protection authority for potential administrative action.