Spyware has been found on the computers of Hungary's national security office, and it is suspected that the illicit software has been operating for the past eight months, according to an official investigation, national daily Nepszabadsag reported on Tuesday.

Police have started investigating the heads of a security services company, UD Vagyonvedelmi, which employs former security-services computer experts. Police suspect UD of having installed the spyware in order to discover whether the security services were monitoring the company's activities.

The company had been connected to a recent scandal related to the conservative opposition Democratic Forum's party elections, the paper said. Ibolya David, the Democratic Forum's leader, last week asked police to start an investigation in connection with an audio CD she had received containing a recording of a telephone conversation suggesting that someone had commissioned UD to spy on her. She suspects her challenger as party leader, Kornel Almassy, of having been involved.

The recording, which has been published in the press, reveals one of UD's shareholders talking to the head of OTP Bank Sandor Csanyi, one of UD's clients, regarding "a well-paid job". Top officials of main opposition Fidesz are suspected of involvement in financing the commissioning of the company in relation to the Democratic Forum case.

It is not clear what kind of data the software has managed to extract from the security office's computers. National police chief Jozsef Bencze told journalists on Monday that police are investigating a case of "crime against computer systems", the paper said.

Reference:

• POLITICS.HU