European Parliament Member Investigating Spyware Was Hacked With Pegasus

A new report from the Citizen Lab reveals that former Member of the European Parliament Stelios Kouloglou had his mobile device repeatedly hacked with the notorious Pegasus spyware while serving on a committee tasked with investigating the abuse of commercial surveillance tools in the European Union.

Through forensic analysis of his device, researchers found that attackers could have accessed confidential documents and committee deliberations. The infections have not been attributed to a particular government, and there is no evidence that the Greek government is behind the activity. However, the Citizen Lab identified an overlap between the first infection and a previous campaign targeting Russian and Belarusian-speaking exiled journalists and activists in Europe, indicating that a Pegasus customer with authorization to spy in multiple European countries is likely responsible.

Kouloglou was a member of the European Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA Committee) from March 24, 2022, to July 18, 2023. The Citizen Lab’s forensic analysis of artifacts collected from his iPhone in May 2026 found that it was compromised with Pegasus spyware on or around October 21, 2022, and again on March 6 and 7, 2023. A zero-click exploit in Apple’s smart home software, codenamed PWNYOURHOME, was used to deliver the spyware, and the issue was addressed by Apple in iOS 16.3.1.

The development marks the first time a member of the PEGA Committee has been publicly identified as a victim of Pegasus spyware while serving on the committee. The findings raise fresh concerns about how governments leverage spyware ostensibly marketed for combating serious crimes for spying on the communications of journalists, lawmakers, dissidents, and critics.