Security researchers have confirmed that a European politician involved in investigating spyware misuse was himself targeted and hacked using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.

The case involves Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek journalist and former Member of the European Parliament who served on the EU’s PEGA committee, which was established to examine the misuse of surveillance technologies across member states.

According to findings from the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, Kouloglou’s iPhone was compromised at least three times between October 2022 and March 2023 using a sophisticated zero-click exploit.This type of attack requires no user interaction, allowing spyware to infiltrate a device silently and extract sensitive data.

The exploit reportedly took advantage of a vulnerability in Apple’s software that had already been patched, though Kouloglou’s device had not yet been updated.Once installed, Pegasus could access messages, location data, photos, and potentially even ambient audio from the device’s surroundings.

The timing of the attacks raised concerns among researchers, as they coincided with critical stages of the PEGA committee’s investigations into spyware abuse across Europe, including discussions involving Cyprus, Greece, Hungary, Poland, and Spain.

Citizen Lab did not publicly attribute the attack to a specific government, but noted that the same infrastructure had been linked to previous Pegasus campaigns targeting journalists across Europe.NSO Group, the spyware manufacturer, did not respond to requests for comment.

Kouloglou has described the incident as a serious violation of privacy and democracy and has indicated plans to pursue legal action against NSO Group.

The revelations have intensified concerns in the European Union about the use of commercial spyware against lawmakers, journalists, and activists, especially those investigating surveillance abuses themselves.