United KingdomA new report by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto has found that NSO Group's Pegasus spyware was used against Stelios Kouloglou, a former member of the European Parliament (MEP) and journalist, during his investigation into spyware abuses in Europe. While the researchers could not definitively identify which government was behind the attacks, they noted similarities between this case and previous hacking campaigns targeting exiled Russian and Belarusian journalists in Europe. Kouloglou, who left the European Parliament in 2024, stated that being spied on by 'very bad people' raised concerns about corruption, justice, and democracy. The findings come amid ongoing scrutiny of Pegasus, a surveillance tool developed by the Israeli firm NSO Group and sold to governments worldwide. Kouloglou was part of the Pega committee, established in 2022 to investigate the misuse of spyware in violation of EU laws, but the committee's recommendations appear to have been largely ignored.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual findings from a research institution without overtly favoring any political side. It reports on the use of spyware against an MEP and highlights the broader implications for democracy and governance, but does not take a clear ideological stance or use biased language.
