EU's Pegasus Investigator Himself Hacked by Pegasus Spyware
Original: EU Politicians Investigated Pegasus Spyware. Then It Ended Up on One of Their Phones
Why This Matters
The case highlights systemic vulnerability of EU legislators to commercial spyware, raising urgent questions about parliamentary security.
Citizen Lab revealed on July 3, 2026 that Greek MEP Stelios Kouloglou's iPhone was infected multiple times by Pegasus spyware in fall 2022 — while he was actively serving on the European Parliament's PEGA Committee investigating the same spyware.
The University of Toronto's Citizen Lab published findings showing that Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek politician and MEP from 2015 to 2024, had his iPhone hacked multiple times by NSO Group's Pegasus spyware in autumn 2022. At the time, Kouloglou was a member of the European Parliament's PEGA Committee, which was established specifically to investigate the use of Pegasus and similar intrusive spyware tools across Europe. Kouloglou told WIRED he was 'shocked and then angry' upon learning his device had been compromised. 'Me being a member of the Pegasus Committee investigating Pegasus and at the same time being hacked by Pegasus — it was something really too reckless,' he said. Citizen Lab states this is the first confirmed case of a PEGA Committee member being targeted while actively working within the group. Researchers noted they lack conclusive evidence identifying which government or entity carried out the attacks, but warned that the perpetrators could have accessed confidential committee information, potentially violating EU parliamentary confidentiality rules. Citizen Lab senior researcher John Scott-Railton stated: 'It's open spyware season on Europe's lawmakers. The European Parliament, national parliaments, nobody is prepared.' NSO Group did not respond to WIRED's request for comment. NSO, headquartered in Israel, had a majority stake acquired by US-based investors in 2025.