Russia|The protection police will not comment on whether there have been similar observations of spying on prosecutors in Finland as in Sweden.
The summary is made by artificial intelligence and checked by a human.
Swedish prosecutors suspect that Russian embassy staff are following them.
Tracking takes place from Russian diplomatically registered vehicles.
According to the suspicion, Russia would try to hack the cell phones used by the prosecutors.
The Finnish Public Prosecutor’s Office has not received information about similar activities in Finland.
Attorney General Ari-Pekka Koiviston according to Finland, there are no indications that the Prosecutor’s Office is being targeted by espionage.
Swedish newspaper Expressen reported on Wednesday that several high-ranking Swedish prosecutors doubt, that the staff of the Russian Embassy will follow them. The tracking seems to take place from Russian diplomatically registered vehicles.
Engagement prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist assessed to the newspaper that the purpose of the monitoring is to map the cell phones used by the prosecutors. After this, Russia would try to hack the phones.
Koivisto according to the Prosecutor’s Office has not received any information from the protection police (supo), military intelligence or the intelligence control representative that would indicate similar activities as in Sweden.
“Of course, the local police would certainly have been active in our direction,” he says.
Koivisto considers the Prosecutor’s Office a possible, but not the most likely, target for espionage.
“We are not necessarily the best destination at all. We very rarely have materials that would be of interest to foreign powers,” he says.
“I’m not saying we’re not in the risk zone, because the prosecutors deal with a lot of secret material and very sensitive material.”
However, according to Koivisto, Finland’s NATO membership can partly change the situation.
“It is clear that the Prosecutor’s Office will also start receiving secret NATO documents in time. These can be of great interest to NATO’s counterparties.”
Swedish according to Koivisto, the situation differs from Finland in that the prosecutors in Sweden are also the heads of the investigation. If, for example, an investigation related to espionage is pending in Sweden, the prosecutor leads it.
According to Koivisto’s assessment, this is also the motive behind the suspected spying on prosecutors in Sweden. According to him, “the connection is quite clear” if the prosecutors in question are the lead investigators in possible espionage investigations.
Espionage is usually well-planned and well-resourced and expensive, so it is directed precisely, Koivisto reminds.
“It is always targeted very systematically and logically. You can say that without knowledge and purpose, you don’t plant in the bush.”
Koivisto according to the Public Prosecutor’s Office prepares for all external threats.
Every prosecutor and other official of the Prosecutor’s Office is familiarized with the institution’s data protection and information security practices. The Prosecutor’s Office is currently updating the guidelines on the handling of security-classified material.
“Prosecutors are constantly reminded that data protection and information security must be at a high level,” says Koivisto.
Koivisto states that the Prosecutor’s Office will be in contact with Sweden regarding the espionage matter.
“We need to get more information from colleagues in Sweden so that we also know how to prepare in Finland.”
Supo does not comment on whether similar spying observations have been made in Finland as in Sweden, because information about possible observations or the lack of them informs the operational activities of the security police.
Supo’s communications and public relations manager Milla Meretniemi says, however, that espionage crimes have not been handled on the same scale as in Sweden in recent years in the various judicial levels in Finland.
“However, the judiciary can also be the subject of inquiries, because it handles confidential information,” he says.
According to Meretniemi, the possibilities of Russian personal intelligence in Finland have weakened significantly because Finland is banished of a large number of Russian intelligence officers after Russia launched its major offensive in Ukraine.
“The majority of Russian intelligence officers working on longer-term assignments abroad specifically use a diplomatic cover.”
Currently, according to Meretniemi, Russia is investing especially in information acquisition in the cyber world.
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