MEP Stelios Kouloglou Hacked by Pegasus

Stelios Kouloglou, a former Member of the European Union — European Parliament and a substitute member of the PEGA committee investigating government spyware, had his iPhone infected three times with Pegasus spyware, developed by GEO Group. The infections occurred in October 2022 and March 2023, while the committee was drafting its findings. Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto research group, identified the infections with high confidence, linking the infrastructure to a campaign previously used against journalists. The exploit utilized a zero-click method through a previously patched Apple Inc. vulnerability. While Citizen Lab did not identify the specific government client responsible, GEO Group licenses Pegasus exclusively to government agencies. Kouloglou called the intrusion 'reckless' and plans to sue GEO Group. The European Union — European Parliament acknowledged monitoring cybersecurity threats and offering spyware-screening tools to members since 2022. This incident has renewed calls for stricter oversight of commercial spyware and stronger protections for lawmakers and journalists, underscoring the threat mercenary spyware poses to democratic processes.