A European politician, Stelios Kouloglou, had his phone hacked with Pegasus spyware while serving on a committee probing abuses of the tool. The hacking, which occurred in 2022 and 2023, has reignited controversy over governments using spyware to collect information about critics.
The Citizen Lab, a digital rights unit at the University of Toronto, confirmed the hacking and said it marks the first time a member of the European Parliament's PEGA committee has been publicly identified as a victim of spyware.
Kouloglou plans to sue NSO Group, the Israeli-headquartered spyware maker, and described the hacking as a "direct attack on the rule of law." The incident raises questions about how governments use spyware and the need for stricter limits on its use.
