RIGA — The hackers who stole over millions of electronic files from Latvia’s state tax collector’s website could become bona fide national heroes for exposing the unjustifiably high salaries of public servants and executives in state-run companies, a lawmaker has said.

In the words of Māris Kučinskis, chairman of the parliament national security committee, “Judging by the overall reaction, it seems that Latvia is getting new heroes, a sort of Robin Hood, and the current public opinion is [private_supervisor]that their deeds are just great.”

A group of hackers who calling themselves the People’s Army of the Fourth Awakening hacked into the State Revenue Service’s website over a period of three months and illegally downloaded some 7 million documents, some 120 gigabytes of data, including income statements and tax returns of top Latvian officials and companies.

The group, whose identity is being investigated by national security services, has apparently decided to release some of the documentation piecemeal as a way to expose and discredit certain officials and firms.

On Monday the hackers released data on salaries of top Rīgas Siltums (Riga Heat) and Rīgas Satiksme (Riga’s transport authority) officials, and the information was eye-opening. Data shows that top executives of the municipal companies received huge monthly salaries — 4,000 lats (€5,700) and higher — while enormous bonuses, including 16,000 lats (€22,500) to Riga Heat CEO Āris Žīgurs last March, went out the door.

For Latvians, such revelations only confirm the belief that the entire state apparatus and everyone connected with it are corrupt.

Kučinskis criticized the hackers’ methods but said he understood the appeal of what they were doing.

“Had [the data] been made public in some other way, then it would be interesting of course and helped expose some negative aspects,” he told Latvian Radio on Tuesday.

The data “mostly shows our post-socialist tendencies — people wanting to get rich right away … frugality has not been our characteristic feature in recent years,” Kučinskis said.

Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs went so far as to say that perhaps the publication of the confidential data was a good thing since, in his words, it threw transparency on city hall’s austerity measures.

“Maybe it’s good that the salaries were published. This allows residents to see how the enterprise [Rīgas Satiksme] worked before June 1 [last year], and how afterward, when the new city council began working,” Ušakovs told the LETA agency Monday. “One of my first decisions was to cut administrative costs in Rīgas Satiksme by 400,000 lats.”

In the meantime, Latvian law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation into the data theft. The State Police Chief Valdis Voins said Tuesday that investigators have appealed to their colleagues in foreign countries for assistance.[/private_supervisor] [private_subscription 1 month]that their deeds are just great.”

A group of hackers who calling themselves the People’s Army of the Fourth Awakening hacked into the State Revenue Service’s website over a period of three months and illegally downloaded some 7 million documents, some 120 gigabytes of data, including income statements and tax returns of top Latvian officials and companies.

The group, whose identity is being investigated by national security services, has apparently decided to release some of the documentation piecemeal as a way to expose and discredit certain officials and firms.

On Monday the hackers released data on salaries of top Rīgas Siltums (Riga Heat) and Rīgas Satiksme (Riga’s transport authority) officials, and the information was eye-opening. Data shows that top executives of the municipal companies received huge monthly salaries — 4,000 lats (€5,700) and higher — while enormous bonuses, including 16,000 lats (€22,500) to Riga Heat CEO Āris Žīgurs last March, went out the door.

For Latvians, such revelations only confirm the belief that the entire state apparatus and everyone connected with it are corrupt.

Kučinskis criticized the hackers’ methods but said he understood the appeal of what they were doing.

“Had [the data] been made public in some other way, then it would be interesting of course and helped expose some negative aspects,” he told Latvian Radio on Tuesday.

The data “mostly shows our post-socialist tendencies — people wanting to get rich right away … frugality has not been our characteristic feature in recent years,” Kučinskis said.

Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs went so far as to say that perhaps the publication of the confidential data was a good thing since, in his words, it threw transparency on city hall’s austerity measures.

“Maybe it’s good that the salaries were published. This allows residents to see how the enterprise [Rīgas Satiksme] worked before June 1 [last year], and how afterward, when the new city council began working,” Ušakovs told the LETA agency Monday. “One of my first decisions was to cut administrative costs in Rīgas Satiksme by 400,000 lats.”

In the meantime, Latvian law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation into the data theft. The State Police Chief Valdis Voins said Tuesday that investigators have appealed to their colleagues in foreign countries for assistance.[/private_subscription 1 month] [private_subscription 4 months]that their deeds are just great.”

A group of hackers who calling themselves the People’s Army of the Fourth Awakening hacked into the State Revenue Service’s website over a period of three months and illegally downloaded some 7 million documents, some 120 gigabytes of data, including income statements and tax returns of top Latvian officials and companies.

The group, whose identity is being investigated by national security services, has apparently decided to release some of the documentation piecemeal as a way to expose and discredit certain officials and firms.

On Monday the hackers released data on salaries of top Rīgas Siltums (Riga Heat) and Rīgas Satiksme (Riga’s transport authority) officials, and the information was eye-opening. Data shows that top executives of the municipal companies received huge monthly salaries — 4,000 lats (€5,700) and higher — while enormous bonuses, including 16,000 lats (€22,500) to Riga Heat CEO Āris Žīgurs last March, went out the door.

For Latvians, such revelations only confirm the belief that the entire state apparatus and everyone connected with it are corrupt.

Kučinskis criticized the hackers’ methods but said he understood the appeal of what they were doing.

“Had [the data] been made public in some other way, then it would be interesting of course and helped expose some negative aspects,” he told Latvian Radio on Tuesday.

The data “mostly shows our post-socialist tendencies — people wanting to get rich right away … frugality has not been our characteristic feature in recent years,” Kučinskis said.

Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs went so far as to say that perhaps the publication of the confidential data was a good thing since, in his words, it threw transparency on city hall’s austerity measures.

“Maybe it’s good that the salaries were published. This allows residents to see how the enterprise [Rīgas Satiksme] worked before June 1 [last year], and how afterward, when the new city council began working,” Ušakovs told the LETA agency Monday. “One of my first decisions was to cut administrative costs in Rīgas Satiksme by 400,000 lats.”

In the meantime, Latvian law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation into the data theft. The State Police Chief Valdis Voins said Tuesday that investigators have appealed to their colleagues in foreign countries for assistance.[/private_subscription 4 months][private_subscription 1 year]that their deeds are just great.”

A group of hackers who calling themselves the People’s Army of the Fourth Awakening hacked into the State Revenue Service’s website over a period of three months and illegally downloaded some 7 million documents, some 120 gigabytes of data, including income statements and tax returns of top Latvian officials and companies.

The group, whose identity is being investigated by national security services, has apparently decided to release some of the documentation piecemeal as a way to expose and discredit certain officials and firms.

On Monday the hackers released data on salaries of top Rīgas Siltums (Riga Heat) and Rīgas Satiksme (Riga’s transport authority) officials, and the information was eye-opening. Data shows that top executives of the municipal companies received huge monthly salaries — 4,000 lats (€5,700) and higher — while enormous bonuses, including 16,000 lats (€22,500) to Riga Heat CEO Āris Žīgurs last March, went out the door.

For Latvians, such revelations only confirm the belief that the entire state apparatus and everyone connected with it are corrupt.

Kučinskis criticized the hackers’ methods but said he understood the appeal of what they were doing.

“Had [the data] been made public in some other way, then it would be interesting of course and helped expose some negative aspects,” he told Latvian Radio on Tuesday.

The data “mostly shows our post-socialist tendencies — people wanting to get rich right away … frugality has not been our characteristic feature in recent years,” Kučinskis said.

Riga Mayor Nils Ušakovs went so far as to say that perhaps the publication of the confidential data was a good thing since, in his words, it threw transparency on city hall’s austerity measures.

“Maybe it’s good that the salaries were published. This allows residents to see how the enterprise [Rīgas Satiksme] worked before June 1 [last year], and how afterward, when the new city council began working,” Ušakovs told the LETA agency Monday. “One of my first decisions was to cut administrative costs in Rīgas Satiksme by 400,000 lats.”

In the meantime, Latvian law enforcement officials are continuing their investigation into the data theft. The State Police Chief Valdis Voins said Tuesday that investigators have appealed to their colleagues in foreign countries for assistance.[/private_subscription 1 year]

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