EU Spyware Investigator Hacked with Pegasus
EU lawmaker Stelios Kouloglou was hacked with Pegasus spyware during an investigation into government surveillance. Citizen Lab found forensic evidence of three infections on his iPhone, two in 2023 while he was traveling between Athens and Brussels. The hack exploited a previously patched Apple vulnerability. The investigation's findings and implications for EU member states remain unclear.
Key points
- Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek former MEP and substitute member of the PEGA committee, was hacked with Pegasus spyware.
- Citizen Lab found forensic evidence of three separate infections on Kouloglou's iPhone, two in March 2023.
- The hack exploited a previously patched Apple vulnerability using a zero-click method.
- The investigation's findings and implications for EU member states remain unclear.
A European Union lawmaker who led an investigation into the use of commercial spyware was himself hacked with the same technology. Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek former member of the European Parliament, was targeted with Pegasus spyware while serving on the PEGA committee. The committee was formed in 2022 to examine the use of Pegasus and similar spyware across EU member states.
Citizen Lab, a research group at the University of Toronto, discovered forensic evidence of three separate infections on Kouloglou's iPhone. Two of the infections occurred in March 2023, while Kouloglou was traveling between Athens and Brussels. The hack exploited a previously patched Apple vulnerability using a zero-click method, which requires no action from the target.
The investigation's findings and implications for EU member states remain unclear. The EU has not commented on the incident, and it is unclear who ordered the hack. The exploit was linked to a campaign already used against journalists elsewhere in Europe, pointing to NSO Group, the maker of Pegasus, as a possible perpetrator.
Sources
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