Ex-MEP hacked with Israeli spyware while probing surveillance abuse
Greek journalist and former MEP Stelios Kouloglou was infected multiple times with Pegasus spyware while serving on the committee investigating its illegal use in the EU, according to Citizen Lab.
A Canadian research group, Citizen Lab, has revealed that the iPhone of Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek investigative journalist and former Member of the European Parliament, was infected at least three times with Pegasus spyware in 2022 and 2023. The infections occurred while Kouloglou was serving on the PEGA Committee, established by the European Parliament in 2022 to investigate the illegal use of Pegasus and other surveillance tools within the EU.
According to Citizen Lab's report released on Friday, the three incidents took place while Kouloglou was in Athens and Brussels. He received Apple threat notifications months after each breach. The report highlights that the hacking could have exposed confidential communications among PEGA Committee members and staff, as well as other sensitive parliamentary proceedings, potentially to parties under investigation.
Citizen Lab did not attribute the attacks to any specific government but found no evidence implicating the Greek government. Pegasus, developed by Israel's NSO Group, allows operators to remotely control a target's phone, accessing messages, photos, contacts, camera, and microphone. While NSO Group markets it for law enforcement, it has been used to spy on journalists, activists, and politicians. The company previously stated it vets buyers and terminates contracts for abuse.
German MEP Hannah Neumann, also a PEGA Committee member, called for an immediate investigation, stating that spyware weakens democratic oversight, parliamentary independence, and the rule of law rather than making democracies safer.
