Data Protection Ombudsman suspects Sonera was aware of snooping

Reijo Aarnio

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Data Protection Ombudsman Reijo Aarnio suspects that Sonera as a company was aware for years of the snooping methods employed by former security chief Juha E. Miettinen.
      In his statement to the prosecutor of the current Sonera trial, the Ombudsman maintains that Sonera legal personnel most likely knew of Miettinen’s practice of tracing mobile telephone calls already in June 1999.
      Sonera suspected back then that one of its employees was guilty of internal misconduct. According to the police investigation performed at the time, the employee’s telephone records were obtained illegally.
     
The Data Protection Ombudsman also referred to later incidents where the use of telephone records was considered at Sonera. For example, communications head Jari Jaakkola asked the legal department in the winter of 2000-2001 if it was legal to probe leaks with the help of telephone records.
      In 2001, the Sonera legal department found out that the movements of Harri Vatanen, the former managing director of a Sonera subsidiary, were tracked with the help of base station signals.
      According to Aarnio, the legal personnel was aware of the tracking of e-mail messages prior to this incident.
     
An employee who was responsible for e-mail within Sonera revealed at a police hearing that the first inquiry concerning e-mail logs was submitted by the security unit in 1997.
      Former Sonera executive Juha Heinänen notified the police in 1997 that his e-mail was being monitored.
      The statement of the Data Protection Ombudsman was read during the second day of the Sonera trial on Tuesday.
      Aarnio also mentioned that Sonera has possibly committed a crime in processing personal data. Therefore, he feels it is important that Sonera’s role as the maintainer of information systems is investigated in more detail.
     
According to TeliaSonera, the statement of the Data Protection Ombudsman is based on assumptions, unfounded suspicions, and false interpretations.
      The company’s official response also noted that the statements of the Data Protection Ombudsman are based on police reports, and that the Ombudsman has not asked the company for any additional information or reviewed the company’s internal regulations.
      TeliaSonera also maintains that there is a discrepancy between the views of the Ombudsman and the results of the investigation of the Finnish Communications Regulatory Authority.
      TeliaSonera announced in court on Tuesday that it will not defend nor accuse its former employees.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Sonera defendants deny deliberate violation of telecommunications privacy (8.2.2005)
  E-mail messages among key prosecution evidence at Sonera trial (7.2.2005)

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