E-mail of Finnish PM possibly breached

HELSINKI, Finland, Jan. 21 (UPI) -- The government of Finland said the e-mail account of Prime Minister Matti Vanhanen may have been breached by an information technology worker three years ago.

Newsroom Finland reported Thursday the Finnish government confirmed in a statement the suspected breach prompted security checks of each individual employed by the information technology company used by the state administration.

"It is possible that the breach took place in 2007 when an employee of the company that then provided IT services to the state administration unlawfully opened messages in the prime minister's office e-mail and took possession of at least one image in order to financially benefit from it," the government said.

The government's comments come after a celebrity weekly, 7 paivaa, reported an intimate photograph featuring Vanhanen and fellow Finnish politician Merikukka Forsius was up for sale by an information technology worker.

Government security director Timo Harkonen said in the wake of the suspected breach, security precautions in Vanhanen's office have become more stringent, Newsroom Finland reported.

"What we have done is to have somebody from the prime minister's office present when computers are serviced," Harkonen said.