In a startling disclosure, the European Parliament has urged members of its security and defence subcommittee to undergo phone inspections for surveillance software following the detection of hacking traces on two devices.

According to an internal email obtained by POLITICO, members and staff within the chamber’s subcommittee on Security and Defence (SEDE) have fallen victim to surveillance software tools.

The institution has directed all lawmakers within the subcommittee to submit their phones to the Parliament’s IT service for thorough examinations to identify any potential spyware.

This development comes amid heightened concerns over cyberattacks and foreign interference in the lead-up to the EU election scheduled for June.

A December report by POLITICO highlighted internal concerns regarding the European Parliament’s cybersecurity posture, indicating that it falls short of industry standards and is not adequately aligned with the level of threat posed by state-sponsored hackers and other threat actors.

These revelations follow a string of previous incidents involving European Parliament members being targeted with spyware.

In 2022, researchers revealed infections of Pegasus and Candiru, two types of hacking tools, on the phones of MEPs associated with the Catalan independence movement.

Similarly, Greek MEP Nikos Androulakis, along with other Greek political figures, was identified as a target of Predator, another spyware tool, in the same year.

Additionally, Parliament’s President Roberta Metsola encountered attempted hacking using spyware.

In response to mounting concerns, European Parliament members established a special inquiry committee in 2022 to investigate these incidents.

The committee scrutinised various scandals across EU member states and highlighted instances where governments abused hacking tools for political purposes.

To address the persistent threat of spyware infiltration, Parliament’s IT service initiated a program last April to conduct regular checks on members’ phones.

Since its inception, the program has conducted “hundreds of operations” aimed at safeguarding the integrity of parliamentary communications and data.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read also – Vladimir Sergienko: Far-Right AfD Bundestag Aide Unmasked as Russian Spy

Sergienko faces the prospect of losing his German citizenship and potential legal repercussions, questions abound about the extent of Russian influence within European politics and the measures needed to counteract it.

The expose serves as a stark reminder of the ongoing threat posed by foreign adversaries to the integrity of democratic processes and national security across Europe.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________