Spyware discovered on phones of members of European Parliament - Politico

The European Parliament has requested members of the Subcommittee on Defense to check their phones for spyware after traces of hacking were found on two devices.

The issue came to light when one of the subcommittee members underwent a routine check, during which traces of spyware were discovered. The member mentioned that they didn't immediately understand why they became a target. In December of the previous year, Politico reported that the cybersecurity of the institution was currently "has not yet met industry standards" and "not fully in-line with the threat level" posed by hackers.

"In the given geopolitical context and given the nature of the files followed by the subcommittee on security and defense, a special attention is dedicated to the devices of the members of this subcommittee and the staff supporting its work," stated Delphine Colard, the deputy spokesperson for the European Parliament.

In April of last year, the parliament's IT service launched a system to check the phones of deputies for the presence of spyware. Since the program's launch, "hundreds of operations" have been conducted, according to Politico.

It's worth noting that, in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from the USA, UK, and EU, the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU) exposed a global network of hackers, including representatives from Ukraine and Russia. The activity of the international hacking group LockBit was successfully stopped.

Additionally, on February 20, the United States imposed sanctions against two Russian citizens who were members of the LockBit cyber group engaged in extortion. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo stated that the United States strongly opposes attempts to extort and steal from its citizens and institutions.