Pegasus Spyware Confirmed on Serbian Rector’s iPhone Days Before Election
Researchers say Pegasus spyware infected the iPhone of a Serbian university rector who backed student protests just six days before Serbia’s election, with a senior prosecutor also flagged as a likely target.
Pegasus spyware has been detected on the phone of a prominent academic in Serbia days before elections, raising concerns about surveillance of political and judicial figures.
Citizen Lab, a digital‑rights research group, confirmed that the iPhone of a Serbian university rector who supported student protests was infected via a zero‑click exploit, meaning the spyware took hold without any action from the user. The compromise occurred six days before Serbia’s election.
Citizen Lab also flagged a senior Serbian prosecutor as a likely Pegasus target, indicating that attempts to deploy the tool in the country may have extended into the justice system. The researchers have not publicly identified who ran the operation.
Pegasus is commercial spyware sold to governments and marketed for use against serious criminals and terrorists. In practice, it grants operators access to calls, messages, contacts, location data and other sensitive material on infected devices.
For the rector and the students he backed, the confirmed infection means protest planning, private conversations and networks of contacts could have been exposed in real time in the run‑up to the vote. For the prosecutor, a successful or attempted compromise would put information about ongoing investigations and internal deliberations at risk.
The timing, just days before an election, underlines how spyware can intersect with domestic politics as well as security concerns.
Signals to watch now include whether Serbian authorities open an investigation into the Pegasus findings, whether any state body is named as a possible operator, and whether similar reports emerge from other public figures or institutions in the country.
Sources
- OSINT