Spyware traces in smartphones of MEPs

Two targeted devices belong to members of European Parliament Subcommittee on Security and Defense. 

On February 21, 2024, the European Parliament asked MEPs and staff from the Subcommittee on Security and Defense (SEDE) to surrender their smartphones for analysis. The decision was made following the discovery of spyware traces in the phones of two of the committee’s members, during a routine check on February 20, 2024.

“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 the Deputy Spokesperson of the Parliament, Delphine Colard. 

The European Parliament will therefore analyze the smartphones of all Commission members and staff, in order to check for spyware. No information has been disclosed as to the nature of the uncovered malicious items.

In April 2023, the Parliament’s IT department set up a monitoring system to detect spyware in the smartphones of MEPs. It has since led to “hundreds of operations,” according to the press release.