According to some reports, confidential emails of the former prime minister of Finland Jyrki Katainen, his aide and the State Secretary on anti-Russian sanctions were stolen and were very close to appearing in the media.
The confidential leak was discovered last Friday, when it was discovered that the emails had been offered to media outlets.
According to Mr. Mantila none of these emails has yet been published.
Lauri Tierala, Special Adviser to Finland's Prime Minister Alexander Stubb, confirmed on his Twitter account that the stolen emails belonged to ex-prime minister Jyrki Katainen, who left the government last June in order to assume a position in the European Commission.
VNK:n tietovuotoepäilys koskee PMI Kataisen aikaa, ei PMI Stubbin. #politiikka #turpo
— Lauri Tierala (@LTierala) 14 апреля 2015
Markku Mantila noted that hackers behind the attack were possibly seeking actual information on EU's new sanctions against Russia. However, he refused to provide any comments regarding the significance of the stolen emails.
Finnish authorities have launched an investigation in order to find out how perpetrators gained access to the confidential administrative emails.
Mantila pointed out that the personal computers and mobile devices of some Finnish officials are currently being "swept."
"The owners themselves have requested that their computers be swept, along with their mobile devices, to rule out any foul play," the spokesperson explained.
He neither specified whom exactly the devices belonged to, nor revealed which organization is conducting the investigation.
