Prosecutor opens investigation into PM's hacking

The federal prosecution service has opened an investigation into two incidents of computer hacking in the services of the prime minister. One of the two incidents took place in October this year, and received a great deal of media coverage in the light of revelations about surveillance activities by the US National Security Administration.

The other, according to a spokesman for the federal prosecutor, took place in August last year, and was never publicised. According to De Tijd, that incident was discovered as a result of a counter-intelligence sweep, but prime minister Elio Di Rupo took no legal steps. Since the second incident last month, however, both incidents are now the subject of an investigation.

The malware discovered on the more recent occasions is similar to malware found on computers of the foreign affairs ministry. The malware allows outsiders to monitor communications through the infected computer – which could mean traffic between the government and diplomats abroad. Exactly what may have been leaked is currently unknown.