Former European Parliament member Stelios Kouloglou was targeted by NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware while serving on a committee specifically tasked with investigating the software’s illicit use across Europe.

Key Points

• Forensic analysis by the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab confirmed Kouloglou’s iPhone was compromised multiple times between 2022 and 2023.
• Kouloglou is the first member of the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee identified as a victim of Pegasus while actively investigating the spyware industry.
• The attacks occurred during critical periods of the committee’s work, including hearings and the finalization of reports on spyware abuse.
• Citizen Lab identified overlaps between the attacks on Kouloglou and spyware campaigns targeting Russian- and Belarusian-speaking journalists and activists.
• NSO Group, the Israeli developer of Pegasus, did not respond to requests for comment regarding the findings.

Why it Matters

The targeting of a lawmaker investigating spyware highlights a significant vulnerability in European democratic institutions and the potential compromise of sensitive parliamentary work. This incident underscores the ongoing failure of EU authorities to implement robust protections or adopt recommended reforms to counter the growing threat of mercenary surveillance tools.