A report by the Dutch newspaper Volkskrant has linked the Greek IT company Unisystems to a 2020 cyberattack by Russian hackers on the European Medicines Agency (EMA). The report alleges that hackers gained unauthorized access to confidential COVID-19 vaccine data and internal emails by infiltrating EMA’s network. Dutch investigators reportedly traced the breach to two temporary EMA employees working on a project assigned to Unisystems. The company’s CEO, Giannis Loumakis, has categorically denied these claims, calling them “completely inaccurate.” In a conversation with Dnews.gr, Loumakis dismissed the allegations insisting that Unisystems was not involved in the attack, which compromised sensitive EMA data. He insists that Unisystems fully cooperated with authorities and that its own systems were never compromised.
According to Volkskrant, the breach began in July 2020 and continued undetected for four months until EMA discovered it on December 1 of that year. Once aware of the attack, EMA alerted both the European cybersecurity agency CERT-EU and Dutch law enforcement. The report states that after an extensive investigation, Dutch authorities identified the source of the breach as two temporary EMA contractors involved in a project handled by Unisystems.
The Greek IT firm, which has longstanding partnerships with major telecommunications, energy, and financial institutions—as well as European organizations like Europol and the Council of Europe—was allegedly exploited as a gateway for hackers to infiltrate other European institutions.
The Volkskrant report also suggests that Dutch authorities attempted to collaborate with their Greek counterparts to investigate the matter. However, these efforts were allegedly unsuccessful, with communication breaking down by July 2021. As a result, Dutch investigators ultimately handed over their findings to CERT-EU and the Netherlands' National Cyber Security Centre.
Unisystems has firmly rejected the allegations. Loumakis emphasized that the company continues to work closely with EMA and noted that the employees accused of involvement in the breach remain employed at the agency. He also stated that Unisystems was last contacted about the issue in late 2021 and had fully complied with both Dutch and Greek authorities, providing all requested information.
