The Wolf Bugged The Shepherd Investigating The Wolves. Classic.
Oh good. Another Tuesday.
I've been awake for what feels like a geological epoch, my coffee has gone cold, and I just got my 47th ticket from a Lamb who "accidentally" clicked a fake grain email about winning a free iPad. So forgive me if my enthusiasm for this next story is somewhere between zero and a barn fire.
Citizen Lab, bless their sleepless souls, just dropped a report confirming that Stelios Kouloglou, a former Member of the European Parliament, had Pegasus spyware loaded onto his mobile device. Repeatedly. While he was actively sitting on the committee investigating the abuse of commercial spyware across the EU.
Let that sink in. The Shepherd assigned to investigate the tick infestation got ticks.
Pegasus, for the three Lambs in the back who wandered off during the briefing, is a commercial-grade parasite that makes your phone its personal grazing field. Full access. Messages, calls, camera, microphone. The whole pasture. The forensic analysis found the attackers could have had nearly complete control of the device during the infection periods.
Now, I want to be clear: this is NOT a case of a Lamb clicking fake grain. This is a sophisticated, targeted deployment of some of the most expensive and dangerous fleas money can buy. The kind of operation that nation-state Coyotes run when they really, really don't want someone poking around in their business.
Which means someone, somewhere, was very motivated to know exactly what a spyware oversight committee was doing. Funny that. Almost like the surveillance industry has friends in high places with very long reach and absolutely zero shame.
The Shepherds in Brussels are presumably horrified. They will hold meetings about this. There will be strongly worded documents. I'm sure the Coyotes are shaking.
I need to go lie down.
Remediation
Look, you and I are not MEPs being hunted by nation-state Coyotes. But here's what you can actually do before the existential dread fully sets in:
- Reboot your phone regularly. Pegasus often loses persistence on reboot. It's not a fix, it's a speed bump, but speed bumps exist for a reason.
- Enable Lockdown Mode on iOS if you are any kind of high-value target. Yes, it's annoying. So is spyware.
- Keep your device sheared and dipped. Current OS patches close known holes in the fence. Zero-days are bad enough without leaving the gate open too.
- Audit who has physical access to your device. Some infections require it.
- If Citizen Lab is calling you, answer the phone.
Stay paranoid out there, the pasture is not safe.
Original Report: https://thehackernews.com/2026/07/european-parliament-member.html