LONDON (AP) — A European official says her staff members were hacked when they joined her for a conference on Internet security in Azerbaijan.
European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes said in a blog post Saturday that her advisers’ computers were compromised as they attended a meeting of the Internet Governance Forum in Baku, the Azeri capital.
Her spokesman, Ryan Heath, said the attack occurred while they were in their hotel.
Heath said he and a colleague got messages from Apple Inc. warning them that their computers had been accessed by an unauthorized party, something he said he believed was an attempt to spy on him.
“I’m presuming it was some kind of surveillance,” he said in a telephone interview.
“What we’re going to do is to get the computers forensically analyzed to see what if anything was taken out of them.”
He declined to say who he thought might be responsible.
Kroes was critical of her hosts when speaking before the forum on Wednesday, attacking the Azeri government for allegedly spying on activists through the Internet and “violating the privacy of journalists and their sources.”
In her blog post Saturday, Kroes cited the hacking as one of several violations which she said highlighted the “harsh” reality of political life in Azerbaijan, an oil-rich nation on the shores of the Caspian Sea.
Kroes said that Azeri authorities reneged on a deal to allow her to see political prisoners, and she claimed that activists at the Internet conference were harassed.
“So much for openness,” she wrote.
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
Raw: Texas Gov. Flies Over Tornado Damage
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials Arrest Man in Idaho in Terrorism Case
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
Sheriff: Expected 'More Loss of Life' in Tornado
Raw: School Bus Crash Injures Five Children
Quick Response Saved Baby on Phila. Train Tracks
Raw: Marines Come to Obama's Aid in the Rain
Obama Says He's 'outraged' by IRS Case
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Raw: Germany Protestors Picket Barbie House
One Million Evacuated As Cyclone Hits Bangladesh
Raw: 6 Die in Russian Ship Fire
Raw: Suicide Bomber Kills 2 Americans, 13 Others
China, Others Want What's Under the Arctic Ice
Raw: Pope Frees Doves From Cage
Today in History for May 15th
Prince Harry Tours New Jersey, New York
Today in History May 14
Today in History May 12
Raw: 40 Dead in Turkey Car Bombings Near Syria
Pakistanis Go to Polls, Election Marred by Bombs
Today in History May 11
Tourists Return to Once Flooded Argentine Town
From Rubble of Death, Survivor in Bangladesh
Raw: Survivor Pulled From Bangladesh Factory
Today in History May 10
Couple Missing From Carnival Cruise Ship
Today in History May 9
