Remisova: Classified IT Project to Be Examined by Police
Bratislava, July 6 (TASR) – One of the classified IT projects will be examined by the police; as the results of an inspection point to suspicions of criminal offences, said Vice-premier and Informatisation Minister Veronika Remisova (For the People) on Tuesday.
“Following our initiative, the Supreme Audit Office (NKU) inspected a project called ‘National Cyber Security Incident Management System in Public Administration’ worth a total of €44 million,” said Remisova. This project was implemented under the previous government largely at the Vice-premier for Investments and Informatisation Office, which was the predecessor of the current Investments, Regional Development and Informatisation Ministry. Remisova specified that it was an EU funded project.
The results of the inspection showed several serious facts, with Remisova highlighting suspicions of committing a crime. “The official information from NKU also states such facts as possible machinations in public procurement or breaches of obligations in the management of somebody else’s property,” added Remisova.
The deputy prime minister further stated that the NKU’s findings only confirm that the requirements for transparency and thorough checking of large IT projects are justified. “In sensitive contracts, the situation is all the more complicated because – and these are IT projects worth not millions but tens of millions of euros – most of such large contracts were concluded as classified with insufficient public checking,” she added.
In a response to Remisova’s press conference, his predecessor in office and Independent MP operating in the extra-parliamentary Voice-SD party Richard Rasi by analogy pointed out that Remisova drew attention about a year ago to secret devices, which probably belonged to military intelligence, and she could thus disrupt the security of the Govnet network.
“Ms. Remisova has questioned today a project in which the Slovak Intelligence Service, the Military Intelligence, the National Security Bureau and the cyber security unit of her ministry are cooperating, and which is to protect the government’s cyberspace. It is a project prepared by experts in the field. Minister Remisova hasn’t been interested in cyber security in Slovakia for 15 months since taking office, and the only thing she has done is that she appointed a member of her party’s leadership as the general director of this extremely important unit,” said Rasi.
