MEP Investigating Pegasus Spyware Was Himself Targeted by Pegasus
Stelios Kouloglou, a former Greek Member of the European Parliament and investigative journalist, discovered that his own smartphone was infected with Pegasus spyware. Kouloglou was a prominent member of the European Parliament's PEGA committee, which was specifically tasked with investigating the Pegasus spyware developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group. The infections on his iPhone were detected by Citizen Lab, a research laboratory based at the University of Toronto. Citizen Lab's analysis revealed two separate instances of Pegasus infection on Kouloglou's device. The first infection occurred in October 2022, and the second took place in March 2023. These dates coincide precisely with the period when the PEGA committee was actively working on its report concerning the spyware.
The revelation that a key investigator of Pegasus spyware was himself a victim of the same technology raises significant questions about the scope and reach of NSO Group's surveillance capabilities. This incident underscores the potential for sophisticated surveillance tools to be deployed against individuals involved in oversight and accountability efforts, even within governmental bodies. It highlights a critical tension between national security interests, the right to privacy, and the imperative for transparency in the digital age. Future governance frameworks will need to address the ethical implications and potential for misuse of such powerful technologies to ensure that investigative and oversight functions are not compromised.
AI-generated to prompt reflection — not editorial opinion, not advice, not a statement of fact. How this works.