A shocking revelation has emerged from the world of European politics, where allegations of cyber-attacks using NSO Group's Pegasus spyware have been levelled against a former MEP leading an investigation into the misuse of such software. Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek journalist and former MEP for the Syriza party, had his mobile device repeatedly compromised between October 2022 and March 2023 – a period coinciding with intense deliberations by the European Parliament's special committee (PEGA) on its initial report.
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which published a new report detailing these incidents, has shed light on the sophisticated nature of the hacking campaign. Mr Kouloglou's device was first compromised in October 2022 – just seven months after he joined the PEGA committee. Further infections were identified in March 2023, when the committee was finalising its findings. The former MEP expressed outrage at the intrusion, highlighting its far-reaching implications for corruption, justice, and democracy.
The PEGA committee was established in March 2022 following revelations of the Pegasus Project – a joint investigation by The Guardian and other media outlets. This exposé revealed how governments worldwide were using Pegasus to target journalists, activists, and politicians, contravening EU law. Citizen Lab's research suggests that while it cannot attribute the attacks on Mr Kouloglou with certainty to a specific government operator of Pegasus, the tactics employed bear striking similarities to those used in previous hacking campaigns targeting exiled Russian and Belarusian journalists based in Europe.
Notably, the same Apple ID email was identified in both sets of attacks – a potent indication that the same government client may be behind these actions. Furthermore, the timing of the hacks coincided with significant events, including Mr Kouloglou's hospital stay where he was visited by investigative journalist Thanasis Koukakis, who has been probing mercenary spyware operations in Greece following the high-profile "Greek Watergate" scandal.