Hungarian defence minister: ‘Blackmailers’ failed to thwart operation of Defence Purchase Agency

“Blackmailers” have failed to obstruct the work of the Defence Procurement Agency (VBU), the defence minister told parliament’s defence and law enforcement committee on Tuesday, adding press reports suggesting that procurements had faltered as a result were wrong.

Hungarian defence minister talks about ‘blackmailers’

Socialist lawmaker Tamás Harangozó and Jobbik MP László György Lukács initiated the hearing of defence minister Kristóf Szalay-Bobrovniczky and Norbert Tajti, the director-general of the Military National Security Service, pointing to press reports that the VBU had suffered an “unprecedented attack constituting a severe risk to national security”. Harangozó complained that the committee had not been briefed on the attack.

Fidesz MP Lajos Kósa noted that the national security committee has been briefed on the case.

Szalay-Bobrovniczky said that cyberattacks were a frequent occurrence, and the group that attacked VBU had recently obtained similar data from the authority’s Czech counterpart. As an independent company, VBU is responsible for the security of its own IT system, which was not connected to that of the Armed Forces, the Defence Ministry or the Military National Security Service, he said.

This, the defence minister added, was a guarantee that no data pertaining to military capacity or national security had been divulged.

An assessment of the exact data stolen is under way, he said, adding that the data on procurements leaked so far had been in the public domain before the attack.

“The government neither negotiates with criminals nor pays them,” he said, adding that an international investigation is under way. He noted that he had also launched an inquiry and removed the then-head of the agency. The new head of VBU, Major General Attila Simon, has a background in special operations, he added.

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