Reports range from computers having contained ‘classified information’ to ‘never having been used’
August is coming to a close with real silly season stories. This one centres on a break-in at the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Internal Administration in which eight computers were stolen.
Last night, SIC evening news stressed that the computers ‘had never been used’.
Today, reports suggest some of them contained “classified information”.
Between the two extremes comes the explanation that the break-in, in central Lisbon, passed ‘unnoticed’ for some five or so hours, for the simple reason that these government offices didn’t have CCTV cameras working.
Again, according to SIC evening news, this was because the system is (or at least was) ‘out of order’. Alternatively, Correio da Manhã says that the cameras may simply “have been turned off”.
Whatever the reason, there was no CCTV. Thus there is not a great deal for police to work on.
It appears the ‘thieves’ entered the premises by climbing scaffolding mounted over an adjoining building.
They climbed up to the level of the 6th floor, and then entered the government’s premises by breaking a window, say reports (so, besides having no CCTV in operation, this government building also has no alarm system, unless it too was ‘turned off’ for some reason…)
“Various offices showed signs of having been rummaged through” says CM, but such is the work timetable of staff that none of this was noticed until much before 10am – by which time the thieves were a very long time gone, with the eight laptops found to be missing.
Observador adds that the building has a permanent guard, at the front of the building, in the form of a PSP agent.
That guard however was not aware of what will have been happening on the scaffolding of the adjoining building.
The break-in took place in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Investigations are now in the hands of the PSP’s Criminal Investigation Division.
Unsurprisingly, this incident is ‘not getting away lightly’. Satirical show “Isto é Gozar com Quem Trabalha” is due back from its ‘summer holidays’ this weekend, and is expected to lampoon the break-in.
As Correio da Manhã’s leader writer Eduardo Dâmaso concedes the whole thing is “an immense laugh at the expense of the state of the State that governs us”.
The incident stands as a “sad metaphor on the incompetence and sloppiness with which serious matters in this country are dealt with”. We are dealing, after all, he says, with the ministry that is in charge of internal security – and it can’t even protect its own premises.
