BREAKING NEWS

NOYB files complaints against EU Parliament over data breach impacting employee privacy

Austrian advocacy group NOYB has filed two complaints with the EU privacy watchdog against the European Parliament, accusing it of inadequately protecting employees' data, the group said on Thursday.

The group led by privacy activist Max Schrems said it was filing the complaints on behalf of four employees in response to a data breach in the parliament's recruiting platform that affected data including passports, criminal records, and more than 8,000 staff marriage certificates.

NOYB, which stands for None Of Your Business, said it was worrying that the parliament, which informed staff of the breach in May, had found out about it months later and still apparently does not know the cause.

"This breach comes after repeated cybersecurity incidents in EU institutions over the past year," said NOYB data protection lawyer Lorea Mendiguren. "The Parliament [must] ensure proper security measures, given that its employees are likely targets for bad actors."