Spyware found on telephones of EU lawmakers

By Burak Bir

LONDON (AA) - Surveillance software has been found on two telephones of European Parliament members (MEPs), according to media reports Thursday.

Two MEPs and one staffer of the security and defense subcommittee were the target of the spyware, Politico reported.

French liberal MEP Nathalie Loiseau, who chairs the subcommittee, was targeted with the Israeli-made spyware Pegasus. Bulgarian social-democrat lawmaker Elena Yoncheva also found traces of the spyware on her phone during an IT security check.

And a committee staff member was also targeted by surveillance software.

The European Parliament had asked members of the defense subcommittee (SEDE) to have their phones checked for spyware amid the widening hacking issue on phones, according to the report.

"In the given geopolitical context and given the nature of the files followed by the Subcommittee on Security and Defence, special attention is dedicated to the devices of the Members of this subcommittee and the staff supporting its work," European Parliament's deputy spokesperson Delphine Colard said Wednesday in a statement.

Other members of the SEDE have reportedly been asked to have their phones checked for spyware.

"The European Parliament constantly monitors cybersecurity threats against its working environment," a European Parliament spokesperson told The Brussels Times.

In March 2022, the European Parliament decided to set up a special committee of inquiry to investigate the use of surveillance spyware, while President Roberta Metsola offered the possibility to all MEPs to run a spyware detection of their private phones and computers.