Cyber-whistleblower stuns Latvia with data heist

LATVIAN officials are struggling to come to grips with an enigmatic group that stole millions of classified tax documents from government computers in a purported effort to expose waste and graft in Europe’s weakest economy.

The massive data theft from the tax authority’s computer system has raised concerns about cybersecurity in the Baltic country.

It has also embarrassed politicians and other public officials whose income and wealth – often many times the national average – are being exposed to the public at a time when Latvia is undergoing painful budget cutbacks to rebound from a severe recession.