Ministry’s IT official rebuffs hacking reports as ‘absolutely false’
The head of the Finance Ministry's General Secretariat for Information Systems Michalis Hatzitheodorou on Tuesday rebuffed as “absolutely false” reports regarding any type of intervention in the ministry's information systems.
The GSIS, and the current general secratary, have not planned much less attempted any type of intervention in its systems, the statement said.
The statement added that the GSIS has enacted procedures with strict specifications which guarantee the security of personal data and make such interventions by anyone impossible.
The statement came a day after the publication of a telephone conference during which former Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis told investors that he had planned a parallel banking system and that a childhood friend who he had recruited to the ministry, and who had lectured at Columbia University, had hacked into the ministry's online tax system.
Varoufakis did not name Hatzitheodorou but the description of his role at the ministry and his background suggested he was referring to him.
The statement from Hatzitheodorou came amid speculation that the judiciary might take legal action against non-political figures implicated in the affair. As a former minister, Varoufakis cannot be prosecuted unless Parliament votes to indict him.
