German parliamentary police issue warning over suspect USB sticks

The police force of Germany's lower house of parliament, or Bundestag, have warned several parliamentary groups about suspicious USB sticks that were sent to lawmakers' offices by post.

The packages with English-language cover letters were received by several groups this week, the conservative parliamentary group said on Friday.

Other Bundestag groups also confirmed receiving packages.

In no case should the stick be connected to a computer, the police said. Instead, the Bundestag police request that it be sent in a separate envelope.

Social Democrat lawmaker Marja-Liisa Völlers said that the incident was certainly concerning and that investigations were ongoing.

According to the Alternative for Germany (AfD) parliamentary group, the Bundestag administration also sent a warning email. A spokesman for the group said upon request that several lawmakers had received a letter with a USB stick.

In the known cases, the USB sticks were handed over to the Bundestag administration or directly destroyed, as previously recommended by the administration via a circular email.

The Left parliamentary group stated that they have not yet received any reports from their lawmakers about the suspicious devices.

The Left First Parliamentary Secretary Ina Latendorf said that the group was warned by the Bundestag administration last week and this week not to use suspicious USB sticks sent by post.