In the summer of 2022, Greek politician Stelios Kouloglou was investigating how intrusive spyware had been used to hack business leaders, law enforcement officials and politicians. As part of the European Parliament's PEGA Committee, set up to investigate the use of the notorious Pegasus spyware, Kouloglou travelled to interview victims and probe high-profile cases. That fall, according to a new forensic analysis, his iPhone was hacked with the very same Pegasus spyware at the center of the investigations.

‘Me being a member of the Pegasus Committee investigating Pegasus and at the same time being hacked by Pegasus,’ Kouloglou says, ‘it was something really too reckless.’

The revelation that Kouloglou’s device had been compromised—multiple times—by the powerful spyware, created by Israeli firm NSO Group, was published on Friday by the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab. The report, which could send shock waves through political circles in Europe, says it is the first time a member of the PEGA Committee has been identified as having been a victim of the Pegasus spyware while working within the group. The researchers say they do not have conclusive evidence of what government or entity was behind the attacks on Kouloglou’s device.

The European investigation into the use of Pegasus and other spyware in 2022 was prompted by a huge leak from the NSO Group that showed the scale and broad scope of Pegasus use around the world, with at least 180 journalists among those reportedly targeted. The Citizen Lab report about targeting within the PEGA Committee demonstrates this, showing how spyware not only violates fundamental rights but also threatens the security and integrity of parliamentary work.