Citizen Lab Finds Israeli Spyware Planted on MEP Who Investigated Pegasus Abuses

Greek MEP Stelios Kouloglou was hacked with Pegasus spyware after joining the European Parliament's committee investigating that same surveillance tool.

A sitting member of the European Parliament assigned to probe illegal spyware was himself targeted by that very technology — a finding researchers say marks a direct strike against democratic oversight. Citizen Lab, the University of Toronto-based digital watchdog, identified the compromise on the device of Stelios Kouloglou, a Greek MEP, and found the infection occurred after he joined the body investigating abusive surveillance practices. Kouloglou served on PEGA, the European Parliament's special committee formed in response to revelations that EU member states had deployed Pegasus — the powerful spyware developed by Israeli firm NSO Group — against journalists, lawyers, and politicians. The committee was established specifically to scrutinize that misuse. Citizen Lab's analysis linked the attack to Pegasus, the same tool under the committee's microscope. NSO Group has consistently maintained that its technology is sold exclusively to vetted government clients for lawful law enforcement purposes, and that it does not operate the software itself. The company did not immediately respond to requests for comment on this specific case. No government has claimed responsibility for the hack on Kouloglou.

Why it matters

The targeting of a parliamentarian investigating spyware abuse raises acute concerns about whether oversight bodies can function when their own members are vulnerable to the tools they are scrutinizing. It also adds to a growing body of documented Pegasus infections inside the European Union, where NSO Group's product is nominally subject to export controls.

What's next

Citizen Lab's findings are expected to add pressure on EU institutions and member states to clarify who authorized the surveillance and whether any accountability mechanisms will be triggered.

Key facts

• Stelios Kouloglou is a Greek MEP who served on the European Parliament's PEGA committee, which investigated abusive surveillance
• Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto, identified Pegasus spyware on Kouloglou's device
• The infection was detected after Kouloglou joined the PEGA committee, according to researchers
• Pegasus is developed by Israeli firm NSO Group and is sold to government clients
• No government has claimed responsibility for the targeting of Kouloglou
• The findings were reported by Reuters and independently confirmed by The Guardian and WIRED

Bias & framing notes

WIRED leaned most heavily on the political drama of the irony — investigators being surveilled — and foregrounded a parliamentarian's 'rule of law' quote prominently. The Guardian's framing was straightforward and process-focused. Reuters/US News kept to a wire-service neutral register. All three agree on the core facts: Kouloglou, Pegasus, Citizen Lab, and the PEGA committee connection.

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