In March, Germany’s domestic intelligence service informed me that my office and I had been the target of an Iranian cyber attack.. Almost two months later, the European Parliament has officially confirmed the attack.
Parliament President Roberta Metsola strongly condemned the attack and has asked the Parliament’s security services to remain especially alert. Following a report by the German Press Agency (dpa), several major media outlets covered the story – including Die Zeit, FAZ, Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Deutschlandfunk, Stern, and t-online.
Since going public with the incident, I have received a great deal of solidarity – from my political group and many other Members of the European Parliament. Many colleagues are aware that they too could become targets of cyber espionage, for example from Russia or China.
I hope this case serves as a wake-up call: we must strengthen our IT systems and remain vigilant. And we must take a clear diplomatic stance against such attacks – no matter who they target. This kind of aggression cannot go unanswered.
