MTV3: Large-scale network spying uncovered at MFA

The commercial broadcaster MTV3 reports that large-scale spying on IT networks at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs was uncovered in the spring. Russia and China are suspected of responsibility for the snooping, which focused on data traffic between Finland and the EU.

The Finnish Foreign Ministry has been the target of large-scale spying, according to MTV3. Image: Yle

31.10.2013 16:50Updated 31.10.2013 20:15

The Finnish Foreign Ministry has uncovered a large spying network that could have been running for up to four years. The matter was first reported by MTV3, and was confirmed to Yle by Finland's Security Police, SUPO.

A Supo investigation is underway.

Serious data breaches were uncovered during the early part of this year, with Finnish authorities suspecting Chinese and Russian intelligence of running the surveillance.

The espionage has been kept under wraps, with just a few key officials aware of the matter. MTV3 says that the true extent of the hacking is still not clear. Neither is it certain that the problem has been fixed.