Belgian Leader’s Mail Reportedly Read by Hacker
Belgian Prime Minister Wilfried Martens on Friday ordered an investigation into reports that a computer hacker rummaged through his electronic files and those of other Cabinet members.
The newspaper De Standaard reported that a man, using a personal computer, for three months viewed Martens’ electronic mail and other items, including classified information about the killing of a British soldier by the Irish Republican Army in Ostend in August.
The newspaper said the man showed one of its reporters this week how he broke into the computer, using Martens’ password code of nine letters, ciphers and punctuation marks.
“What is more, during the demonstration, he ran into another ‘burglar’ . . . with whom he briefly conversed” via computer, the newspaper said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
