Wednesday

4th Oct 2023

EU parliament blocks websites 'to protect' staff

  • Reddit is a social medium for sharing links and news stories (Photo: Eva Blue)

Blocking websites is something people usually associate with authoritarian regimes in China or Iran rather than the European Union.

But staff in the European Parliament last week received this message when they tried to access the popular links-and-news sharing site Reddit: "We blocked this website to protect you."

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

"This website is known to distribute malware or is part of a security incident or cyber threat as reported by the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT). This is not an error message. We have intentionally blocked this website so you wouldn't get harmed," the EP message went on.

After an avalanche of messages and over 500 comments on the Reddit website itself, the IT department of the European Parliament lifted the ban and admitted that it chose to "err on the safe side" and block all websites which are flagged up by CERT.

Reddit "got blocked at one point because it was included on a list of sites known to distribute malware. That list of sites is maintained by CERT-EU (the Computer Emergency Response Team of the European Institutions). Unfortunately I have no insight into how reddit.com ended up on the list in the first place," Joost De Cock from the parliament's technical support department wrote on Reddit.

He added that "when one of our users raises an issue for a site that is blocked, we look into the matter. If the site is legitimate, we unblock it."

Meanwhile, a contact at CERT-EU has told this website that Reddit was included on the list because Apple computers already infected with a virus called Mac.BackDoor.iWorm were being remotely accessed via a search function on Reddit.

But "it was not Reddit that distributed the malware," the CERT-EU contact wrote in an email.

"Every organisation makes their own decisions whether to monitor or block some resources," he added.

The European Commission, the EU Council and the bloc's diplomatic service (EEAS), which all had been hacked in the past and which are also wary of further internet security "incidents", have not blocked Reddit.

While for his part Florian Walther, a Berlin-based internet security expert, told this website that the EP overreacted.

"When a malware is using Google to find whatever, then they probably block Google?!? - Not a good approach."

He said that a "professional anti-malware team" would have asked Reddit for the list of the servers used to control the infected computers, "this way you stay 100% safe while you have no side effects".

A spokeswoman for the European Parliament told EUobserver that blocking sites occurs "regularly" whenever such "potential threats" are listed, and that in the past even the BBC website was blocked temporarily.

But Malta-based network security expert Luigi Auriemma also said that blocking sites "is not a real solution."

"It's just a way to try to 'limit' the current and further issues for the users in the internal network based on a public information that arrives when it's too late."

Analysis

Slovak's 'illiberal' Fico victory boosts Orbán, but faces checks

Fico has the potential to shift Slovakia from the West and jeopardise the EU unity in its stance against Russia's Ukraine war. His victory could also have a domino effect in central Europe and empower of other far-right, populist movements.

Opinion

Why EU Commission dumped Google's favourite consultant

This should be a wake-up call to ensure consultancy firms with a vested interest are permanently excluded from public tenders. The close relationship between the EU's competition authority and economic consultants poses a serious risk to its independence.

Latest News

  1. EU demands 'full clarity' from Warsaw on visa-scandal
  2. EU reveals 10 'critical tech' in bid to de-risk from China
  3. EU Commission at a loss over latest snub from Tunisia
  4. Northern Europe — the new Nato/Russia frontline
  5. The EU-Kenya free trade deal shows a waning 'Brussels effect'
  6. Hoekstra pledges to phase-out fossil fuel subsidies
  7. 10 years on from the Lampedusa shipwreck — what's changed?
  8. EU ministers go to Kyiv to downplay fears on US, Slovak aid

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  2. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators, industry & healthcare experts at the 24th IMDRF session, September 25-26, Berlin. Register by 20 Sept to join in person or online.
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. International Medical Devices Regulators Forum (IMDRF)Join regulators & industry experts at the 24th IMDRF session- Berlin September 25-26. Register early for discounted hotel rates
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  2. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  3. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable
  4. World BankWorld Bank Report Highlights Role of Human Development for a Successful Green Transition in Europe
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersNordic summit to step up the fight against food loss and waste
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThink-tank: Strengthen co-operation around tech giants’ influence in the Nordics

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us