Minister Orders Audit of IT Security Center
Interior Minister Hanno Pevkur gave the order to audit the IT and Development Center (SMIT) after daily Eesti Päevaleht got hold of a critical letter written to the minister by a former SMIT employee, saying the center abuses spyware.
The anonymous source sent the letter to the minister, the secretary general and his deputies and to the leadership of SMIT, pouring cold water on the heads of SMIT and accusing the organization of corruption leading to a decrease in staff motivation and SMIT's capabilities, Eesti Päevaleht reported today.
According to the accusation, SMIT leadership approved a system which collected information about staff members, which could be used against them, while abusing the state's IT systems, leading to failed state IT procurements and deleted speeding tickets.
A IT solution to guard the Schengen information system failed to work, and staff members had to enforce security manually, a shortfall which was hidden from ministry heads.
Robert Siimon, who left the organization in April, also criticized the leadership of SMIT, pointing out similar problems.
The audit will be handled by the ministry's own internal audit department, and involve the State Information System Authority (RIA), police and outside experts. The minister has given the department a September 25 deadline for a report.
SMIT's tasks include leading procurements of IT systems and solutions, development and management of the systems, development and security of state electronic identification systems, implementation of cyber security standards and advising on cyber defense issues.