European Commission Officials Say Their Computers Were Hacked in Azerbaijan

Neelie Kroes, the vice-president of the European Commission, has revealed that the laptops of her advisers have been hacked into while attending the Internet Governance Forum (IDF) in Baku, the capital city of Azerbaijan.

On her personal blog, Kroes stated that she attended the event because she was confident that the IDF would bring “radical change,” just as it happened in Tunisia and Egypt.

“But on the other hand I was denied access to meet political prisoners, despite a commitment from the President himself. Activists were harassed at the Internet conference. My advisers had their computers hacked. So much for openness,” she explained.

Ryan Heath, Kroes’ spokesman, told AP that while they were at the hotel, he and one of his colleagues received warnings from Apple that their computers had been illegally accessed.

They believe that this might have been an attempt to spy on them. It’s uncertain if the attackers have managed to take anything from the devices, but they’re currently trying to find out.

On the other hand, Azerbaijani officials told Trend that “the statement has no basis.” Authorities have launched an investigation into the matter to find out if what European Commission officials have said is true.

“Any Interference into their computers is out of the question, no evidence and facts confirming these statements have been revealed,” Head of Azerbaijani Presidential Administration Social and Political Department Ali Hasanov said.

Hasanov accuses European Commission officials of trying to harm the country’s image and the one of the IDF organizers.

He is confident that there was no “interference in their computers,” but he advises them to file a complaint with the Azerbaijani Prosecutor General's Office, which will investigate the case.