MEPs told to leave phone at home for China trip

BRUSSELS — European Parliament lawmakers travelling to China next week are asked to carry burner phones and told to leave personal devices at home, two members of the delegation told POLITICO.

Nine MEPs are traveling to Beijing and Shanghai next Monday to Thursday, in a visit that will focus on digital affairs and e-commerce rules. It’s the first parliamentary delegation to travel to China in eight years, the committee said.

Concerns over Chinese cyberespionage have peaked in recent years, as authorities uncovered more and more attacks by Chinese state-backed hacking groups on European governments and the private sector.

A Parliament spokesperson said that “all necessary preventive and reactive measures are in place to ensure the security and safety of MEPs and [European Parliament] staff during official missions.” Both lawmakers and officials have been given “briefings, training and assistance regarding security,” they added.

The European Parliament has used burner phones and security pouches to protect devices like mobile phones before, including on a trip to Hungary last year, POLITICO first reported.

Other European Union institutions have beefed up their protections against cyberespionage, too. One senior official, granted anonymity to disclose details about security policy, told POLITICO’s Brussels Playbook that the Council of the EU had guidelines stating that “no electronics are taken to the U.S. or China … When this is not possible, the electronics that are brought back must be wiped.”

Commission officials heading to the United States have also been issued burner phones and basic laptops to avoid espionage risks, the Financial Times reported last year.