Russian state actors hacked into the Hungarian Foreign Ministry’s computer network compromising internal correspondence and even a secure network that transmits classified information. The recurring cyberattacks over the past decade were kept quiet by the Orbán government, and have not been successfully countered. With the help of internal documents and background interviews, Direkt36 exposes Russian cyber espionage against Hungary’s MFA.
Continue readingTag Archives: Kína
Putin’s hackers gained full access to Hungary’s foreign ministry networks, the Orbán government has been unable to stop them
Former Hungarian ambassador to China was targeted with Pegasus – shortly before becoming senior advisor to Orbán
Cecília Szilas is not the first high-ranking Hungarian official who was targeted with the Pegasus spyware. Her phone was added to the list during her stint at a conflict-ridden company called Dunaferr, shortly before becoming the Prime Minister’s senior advisor on China.
Continue reading
Orbán’s government tried to hide sensitive information on €1.5B Chinese university project
Although Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s government published its plans for the taxpayer funded Fudan Hungary University, it censored all politically sensitive and explosive information from the documents.
Continue reading
To please China, Orbán’s government shifted plans to favor Fudan’s campus over Student City
An internal conflict erupted in Hungary’s government as the Budapest Student City project, designed for low-income Hungarian university students, was scrapped in favor of a Chinese private university for wealthy foreigners. Direkt36 also acquired Fudan Hungary University’s financial projections.
Continue reading
Huge Chinese loan to cover the construction of Fudan University in Budapest
Chinese workers will construct Fudan’s Budapest campus using Chinese building materials, all covered by a Chinese loan, but the Hungarian state is the one paying the huge bill. Fudan University has already picked a contractor: state-owned China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a company embroiled in suspicions of corruption and espionage in several countries around the world.
Continue reading
Company with murky background is at the center of Hungary’s Chinese vaccine deal
There are more and more questions about the procurement of Chinese vaccines. One of the people behind the company supplying the vaccines is a former ice hockey player who, according to his acquaintances, works for an energy drink company and has never had a serious business before, Direkt36 found.
Continue reading
Chinese spy games in Orbán’s Hungary
The policy of ’Eastern Opening’ set out by Viktor Orbán in hope of tons of Chinese money never actually resulted in momentous Chinese investments. The China-friendly environment in Hungary, on the other hand, came in handy for Chinese intelligence. Direkt36 presents the hidden history of Hungarian-Chinese relations.
Continue reading
Huawei is slowly pushed out from European 5G networks but the Orban government still supports them
5G rollout has finally started in Hungary during the pandemic. Telenor, the partly state-owned mobile operator could be the lifeline for the beleaguered Chinese company.
Continue reading
China suspended the export of some COVID-19 tests in April. The Hungarian government had already stocked up on them
Hungarian paramedics are still using tests whose exports were suspended in April. This week, China again loosened export requirements, and it seems that the Hungarian government also managed to find a reliable supplier.
Continue reading
Hungary’s government is quietly neck-deep in the U.S.-Huawei war
The Trump administration is nervous about the good relationship between the Orban government and Huawei. The Chinese giant has been involved in several Hungarian state developments in recent years, and their devices have even emerged with Hungarian security agencies.
Continue reading
MP of Hungary’s strongest opposition party has ties to the government’s controversial trading house business
Opposition MP Lajos Olah has been dealing with China for quite a while. He is so successful that even Hungarian foreign minister Peter Szijjarto can also be regularly seen with him. And one of Olah’s acquaintances operates a Chinese trading house for 70 thousand euros monthly.
Continue reading