Pegasus spyware infected the phone of an MEP who investigated EU surveillance

In July 2026, Citizen Lab confirmed that Pegasus had infected the phone of Stelios Kouloglou in October 2025. Kouloglou, a former Greek member of the European Parliament, had himself investigated the use of spyware in the European Union. After the evidence was published, human rights groups called on the European Commission to take urgent action.

Who exactly was hacked

Stelios Kouloglou is a former member of the European Parliament from Greece. He was previously involved in European investigations into the use of commercial spyware against politicians, journalists, and activists inside the EU. For human rights advocates, the fact that the target was someone who had studied such cases himself is a particularly alarming signal.

• The hack was confirmed by Citizen Lab, a Canadian digital forensics lab
• The target: Stelios Kouloglou, a former MEP from Greece
• The device was infected with Pegasus in October 2025
• Human rights groups issued a joint statement with demands to the European Commission

Why the European Commission is under pressure

Civil society groups urged the EU to respond to spyware abuse with "accountability, not impunity." Pegasus, developed by Israeli company NSO Group, can infect smartphones without any action from the victim (a so-called zero-click attack). Once installed, it gains access to the device's messages, calls, microphone, and camera. In recent years, the spyware has surfaced in scandals over surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders, and politicians in several EU countries, including Greece itself, Poland, and Hungary.

How the EU has already responded to Pegasus scandals

Pegasus scandals have dogged the European Union for years. In 2022, the European Parliament set up a special committee to investigate the use of spyware (PEGA). In 2023, the committee published a report with recommendations for restricting the use of such technologies against politicians and journalists within the EU. Back in November 2021, the US Commerce Department added Pegasus developer NSO Group to its sanctions list, restricting the company's access to American technology. Despite these measures, new cases of spyware infecting politicians and public figures in Europe keep surfacing.

What this means

The Kouloglou case shows that even after years of public investigations, commercial spyware is still being used against people whose positions should protect them from surveillance. The European Union still lacks real tools to hold anyone accountable.