Politician who investigated spyware abuses had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware
AI-summarised brief · reviewed before publication
A European politician, Stelios Kouloglou, had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware while serving on a committee investigating spyware abuses. The hacking occurred in 2022 and 2023, with the spyware exploiting a security vulnerability in Apple's iPhone software. This is the first time a member of the European Parliament's PEGA committee has been publicly identified as a victim of spyware. The hacking has reignited controversy over governments abusing spyware to collect information about critics. The Citizen Lab researchers did not attribute the hacking to a specific country, but noted the government customer used the same Pegasus-loaded email address as in a previous campaign. The hacking has sparked calls for the European Commission to take action, with one lawmaker describing it as a "direct attack on the rule of law." The incident raises questions about how governments use spyware, ostensibly for identifying serious crime, but often targeting journalists, lawmakers, and critics.
💡 Why It Matters
- · The hacking of Kouloglou's phone exposes the vulnerability of even high-profile targets to spyware attacks, undermining trust in government oversight.
- · It also highlights the need for stricter regulations on spyware use, particularly among government agencies.