A major scandal in national cybersecurity erupted this week after Slovakia's National Criminal Agency (NAKA) found wiretaps on devices used by a major government network, leading to four arrests, including the detaining of a government agency head responsible for managing the network, reports on Wednesday revealed.
GOVNET, a network connecting multiple Slovak government agencies, was found with numerous suspicious devices connected to the government's telecoms networks, it was found.
“According to information from Denník N, the police seized suspicious equipment on individual servers from the environment of law enforcement agencies.” a post from the Dennik N website revealed.
“Investigators believe that not only all government e-mails but also telephone calls could be monitored,” it added.
National Agency for Network and Electronic Services (NASES) director-general Peter Ďurica, NASES surveillance centre chief Jan K, Cybersecurity Section of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Investment and Informatisation chief Jan M and a further suspect in the private sector were arrested, according to Aktuality.sk.
Investigators speculate that such devices were being used to monitor government internet and telephone communications, and further devices were discovered in law enforcement and judiciary networks.
"If the suspicions are confirmed, it could be one of the biggest threats to cyber security in Slovakia,” NAKA experts analysing the devices said, with authorities adding that foreign state involvement was a possibility.
