MPs vulnerable to cyberattacks after dissolution of parliament – report

As politicians lose the protection of Westminster's IT security, hackers have increased opportunity to access sensitive data, say security researchers

MPs who are leaving the protection of parliament for the campaign trail will render the election significantly more vulnerable to hacking, leading security researchers have warned.

According to Dr Udo Helmbrecht, executive director of the European Union's Agency for Network and Information Security (ENISA), hackers have their best opportunity to intervene in democracies in the weeks running up to the election because parliament's information security services are no longer overseeing their accounts. If hackers want to disrupt a democracy, elections are the time to do it, he said.