Open VLD MP Goedele Liekens revealed that she was a victim of months-long surveillance. Liekens took to social media to disclose that she fell prey to malware that was introduced through a fake email purportedly from Vlaams Belang MP Steven Creyelman, though it was not actually sent by him. The breach led to the exposure of all her data across devices as the hacker had infiltrated her Dropbox account.
"It's pervasive: on my laptop, iPad, phone, and even on my desktop at home. IT professionals had to spend two days purging everything. They even had to remove the hard drive from my desktop," disclosed Liekens in a statement on radio program De Ochtend.
Liekens expressed her apprehension about the House's inadequate readiness to combat cyber threats. "Their response was lackluster: 'Oh dear, that's unfortunate. We'll disconnect your email and disable your Wi-Fi access.' But sometimes, you need more than that," the MP lamented. She highlighted that she was unable to secure her Dropbox account as the hacker had locked her out.
"The House is lagging behind technologically. People still serve us coffee in meetings; we are perfectly capable of doing that ourselves. Perhaps we should prioritize securing our digital infrastructure," Liekens suggested.
English (US)