The European Commission is giving staffers visiting the US on official business burner laptops and phones to avoid espionage attempts, according to the Financial Times.
The use of clean and locked-down hardware is common practice for anyone visiting China, Russia, and other states where aggressive electronic surveillance is expected. Apparently the European Union has added the United States to that list. “The transatlantic alliance is over,” an EU official told the newspaper, which reported the commission “is issuing burner phones and basic laptops to some US-bound staff to avoid the risk of espionage — a measure traditionally reserved for trips to China.” Four sources told the FT the EC had changed its guidance to ensure that visitors to America take serious precautions against cyber-espionage.
Read more…
Source: The Register
Sign up for our Newsletter
The latest news and insights delivered right to your inbox.
Related:
- EU to toughen cyberattack defence strategy for healthcare sector
July 24, 2024
Political Guidelines 2024-2029 published before Von der Leyen’s reappointment as president of the EU executive last week included suggested a new action plan on cybersecurity of hospitals and healthcare providers will be presented in the first 100 days of the new mandate. The Guidelines were published a day before a massive IT outage brought hospitals and ...
- Elon Musk’s X accused of violating EU digital laws, Musk says EU offered illegal secret deal
July 13, 2024
Elon Musk’s X (Formerly Twitter) has been accused by the European Union (EU) of multiple violations of the Digital Services Act, which can potentially lead to hefty fines for the social media platform. One key violation includes allowing people to get a “checkmark” which was once reserved only for verified users. However, Musk wrote a post ...
- Kremlin critics targeted with spyware inside European Union
June 5, 2024
At least seven critics of the Kremlin, including journalists were targeted inside the European Union (EU) by a state using Pegasus, a report by digital civil rights NGO Access Now said on Thursday (May 30). In its report, Access Now said on Thursday an investigation by the NGO revealed that the use of Pegasus (a hacking ...
- European Parliament election prep unearthed data breach
May 8, 2024
The breach, dating back to early 2024, was uncovered two weeks ago as the European Parliament intensified efforts to reinforce its cybersecurity in preparation for the upcoming European elections in June, a press officer from the European Parliament told Euronews. The compromised application which has now been taken offline is called ‘PEOPLE’, and collated sensitive information ...
- Dmitry Khoroshev named as alleged leader of ransomware gang LockBit
May 7, 2024
The alleged leader of what was once the world’s largest ransomware outfit, LockBit, has been named as Russian national Dmitry Khoroshev by the UK’s National Crime Agency (NCA), after the seizure of the criminal gang’s infrastructure. Khoroshev, who lived his online life under the name LockBitSupp, has been sanctioned by the UK, US and Australia as ...
- More than 3 000 law enforcement authorities now connected to Europol
April 12, 2024
As of today, over 3 000 law enforcement authorities from more than 70 countries and international entities are connected to Europol’s secure information exchange channel, known as SIENA (‘Secure Information Exchange Network Application’). The platform enables the swift exchange of operational and strategic information among Europol, EU Member States and partner countries with which Europol has ...