Prague, Jan 5 (CTK) – Unknown perpetrators have probably hacked into Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka´s (Social Democrats, CSSD) e-mail and government spokesman Martin Ayrer has told CTK that the police are checking the matter.
Though the Government Office has not confirmed the authenticity of the correspondence released on an extremist web, the fact that the police are dealing with the case seems to confirm the authenticity.
Unknown perpetrators also hacked Sobotka´s Twitter account in December.
Sobotka said he will not be intimidated by the repeated hacking attacks.
“The repeated attacks by hackers against me and the policies I promote will neither scare me off nor influence me,” Sobotka said.
According to CTK´s information, the Government Office is dealing with an improved protection of Sobotka´s electronic communication.
The published correspondence, to which Lidovky.cz server has pointed, concerns migration, previous coalition government negotiations, the presidential campaign, the selection of Czech Radio director, the case of Czech oil in German stores and also Sobotka´s personal mortgage.
Other mails deal with the CSSD´s affairs, the case of former Central Bohemia governor David Rath (formerly CSSD) who has been convicted of corruption, and dialogue with Sudeten Germans.
The authors of the mails from several past years address Sobotka officially, but also as “dear friend” or “dear Slavek,” where Slavek is a diminutive for Bohuslav.
The names of other politicians, including current Labour and Social Affairs Minister Michaela Marksova (CSSD) and CSSD deputy group Roman Sklenak, as well as Sobotka´s close friend, lawyer Radek Pokorny and Pavel Svagr, head of the Administration of State Material Reserves, also appear in the correspondence.
According to CTK´s information, the Government Office is now looking into how to improve the safety of Sobotka´s electronic communication.
Lidovky.cz wrote that minimally two published e-mails are authentic. The mail senders include David Sedlacek (CSSD) who has confirmed that he exchanged mails with Sobotka.
“The content of the mail you describe to me is identical with that I wrote,” Sedlacek told the server.
The mail that lawyer Pokorny wrote to Istvan Leko, editor-in-chief of daily Lidove noviny and that he then sent to Sobotka, is also authentic, the server wrote.
Commentaries calling for hatred for migrants appeared on Sobotka´s Twitter when it was hacked in December.
The false tweets called for fighting the refugees whom they described as an invasion military remained on Sobotka´s profile for about seven hours.
The messages also contained links to articles and videos inciting fear of the migrants and hatred for them.
According to the ihned.cz news server, hackers also attacked Sobotka´s blog on aktualne.cz on Monday evening.
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