Threats · 54 days ago
European Parliament members are pushing to slow Serbia’s EU accession after the SHARE Foundation, Amnesty International and Citizen Lab found Pegasus and NoviSpy on student activists’ phones. The MEPs say the report gives them grounds to demand an investigation and to tie accession to rule-of-law accountability.
The phones were turned into surveillance posts without anything obvious for the user to click, letting messages, calls and activity be copied out while the device still looked normal. The groups did not assign responsibility for Pegasus, but evidence from NoviSpy pointed to Serbian government authorities.
That shifts the story beyond the infected phones themselves: if the findings hold, the exposure is no longer just about who was watched, but about whether Serbia’s surveillance practices now carry diplomatic consequences inside its EU membership track.
2 sources covering this story
European parliament members call for slowdown of Serbia’s EU entry over spyware use
European Parliament members call to stall Serbia’s EU entry process following reports that state authorities used Pegasus and NoviSpy spyware to target student activists and political opposition.
The Record from Recorded Future
Large group of Serbian opposition, activist figures targeted with spyware
At least 14 Serbians have been targeted with advanced spyware since December, with victims including a member of Parliament, a local opposition politician and student protesters, according to digital forensic researchers.
Part of the PlainSec briefing for 2026-09-07