Journalist and former MEP Stelios Kouloglou filed charges against executives of NSO Group, an Israeli company that manufactures spyware software, after he found he had been infected with the company’s Pegasus spyware in 2022 and 2023.
The complaint states that the illegal wiretapping of his phone constitutes a felony, which includes charges such as the violation of the confidentiality of phone communications, unauthorized access to an information system or data, and violation of the law on personal data.
Kouloglou said the hacking of his device was confirmed following a forensic analysis conducted by Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, which showed that it took place on or around 21 October, 2022, and again on 6 and 7 March, 2023. At the time, he was serving as a substitute Member of the Parliament’s Committee of Inquiry to investigate the use of Pegasus and equivalent surveillance spyware (PEGA Committee).
In his complaint, the former MEP says the installation of Pegasus software on his mobile phone allowed the perpetrators to gain access to all his personal data. “The perpetrators unlawfully accessed the information system and the personal data filing systems contained within it,” thereby accessing communications, contacts, documents, and sensitive information, such as health records, as well as details regarding his professional and political activities as a member of the European Parliament’s PEGA Committee.
Kouloglou also says that the individuals named in the complaint are also facing criminal investigations in other European countries. “I hope the Greek justice system does its job,” he added.
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