Hackers hit data on dairy probe
Unidentified hackers have accessed the state Competition Commission’s electronic system and may have removed data relating to an internal probe into dairy firms’ activities, the commission’s president told the government yesterday. Commission President Spyros Zissimopoulos briefed Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas about the alleged incident and Sioufas informed the Public Order Ministry, which is to carry out an inspection. All commission staff have access to its electronic data, sources say. Meanwhile Zissimopoulos gave additional testimony to a magistrate investigating allegations that high-ranking public sector officials allegedly blackmailed the Mevgal dairy firm by asking it to pay 2.5 million euros to avert a 25-million-euro fine. Zissimopoulos was asked to testify following the depositions of three officials implicated in the Mevgal case – commission official Panayiotis Adamopoulos, merchant Constantinos Constantinidis and customs official Panayiotis Anagnostopoulos. Zissimopoulos is alleged to have denied any knowledge of the purported activities of his colleague Adamopoulos, who has been suspended for allegedly blackmailing Mevgal, and of the involvement of Constantinidis. Zissimopoulos also allegedly claimed to have contacted Mevgal’s lawyer in order to offer the firm favorable terms of cooperation. Adamopoulos has alleged that Zissimopoulos was fully aware of all dealings with Mevgal. Mevgal CEO Dimitris Simeonidis also testified yesterday.
