Citizen Lab Reports Pegasus Infections on Former European Parliament Member’s Phone
Summary
Citizen Lab says Pegasus infected Stelios Kouloglou’s phone in October 2022 and March 2023 while he served on the PEGA Committee. It links the same customer to spyware attacks on Russian- and Belarusian-speaking journalists and opposition figures.
Key points
- Citizen Lab researchers reported evidence that Pegasus infected former European Parliament member Stelios Kouloglou’s phone in October 2022 and March 2023.
- The infections occurred while Kouloglou served on the PEGA Committee, which was examining commercial spyware abuse.
- Citizen Lab linked the same Pegasus customer to attacks on seven Russian- and Belarusian-speaking journalists and opposition figures between August 2020 and January 2023.
- The researchers said the same targeting email was used in the related cases, which they regarded as evidence of a common operator.
- Kouloglou believes the Greek government was responsible; Citizen Lab said it had no indication supporting that attribution.
- Researchers said Kouloglou had received three Apple threat notifications about potential spyware, but he said he did not see them.
Article Details
- Victim Organization
- European Parliament (device belonging to member Stelios Kouloglou)
- Incident Type
- Repeated Pegasus spyware infections targeting a member of the European Parliament
- Data Types Exposed
- Photos stored on the infected phone; theft or access was not confirmed
- Messages, including communications with political leaders and journalists; theft or access was not confirmed
- Operational Impact
- Citizen Lab researchers reported infections in October 2022 and March 2023. Stelios Kouloglou believed the Greek government was responsible, but Citizen Lab said it had no indications supporting that attribution. Citizen Lab assessed that the same Pegasus customer may have been behind related attacks on Russian- and Belarusian-speaking journalists and opposition figures.
- Claim Status
- confirmed
People
Hannah NeumannEuropean Parliament representative and PEGA Committee negotiator who commented on the significance of the spyware targeting for parliamentary oversight and European democracy.John Scott-RailtonCitizen Lab researcher who discussed the spyware findings and warned about the risk of further infections affecting members of parliament.Stelios KouloglouFormer European Parliament member whose phone Citizen Lab researchers reported was infected with Pegasus in October 2022 and March 2023; he believed the Greek government was responsible, an attribution Citizen Lab said it could not support.
Malware
Vendors
Products
Countries
Belarusto the same Pegasus customer behind earlier infections targeting journalists and opposition figures in Belarus and Russia, raising fresh concerns about surveillance of lawmakers and European democracy.GreeceKouloglou represented Greece in parliament from 2015 to 2024.RussiaPegasus customer behind earlier infections targeting journalists and opposition figures in Belarus and Russia, raising fresh concerns about surveillance of lawmakers and European democracy.