EU Commission staff phones targeted with Pegasus spyware, letter says

An internal investigation in the European Commission has found certain staff members' mobile phones were targeted using an Israeli company's surveillance software, according to a letter seen by dpa on Thursday.
The letter from EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders to EU legislator Sophie in 't Veld, said US tech company Apple warned him in November 2021 of his device's "possible compromise" by the Israeli NSO Group's Pegasus surveillance software.
According to the letter, this alert prompted a series of inspections of Reynders' devices, along with other commission staff members, that received the warning from Apple.
Dated Monday of this week, the letter said inspections found no definitive evidence the spyware succeeded in compromising Reynders' or other staff members' devices.
However, the letter said the investigation is ongoing and "several device checks" discovered "indicators of compromise," an expression used by security officials to mean system infiltration.
According to Reynder's letter, it is not possible to attribute responsibility to exact perpetrators with confidence.
The justice commissioner did not provide further details of the investigation due to the letter's public nature.
Reynder's letter said prior to Apple's warning, the EU executive arm was already investigating the possible infiltration of Pegasus software after revelations in July 2021 that authoritarian governments worldwide had used the spyware against critics, opposition members and journalists.
In 't Veld, a liberal member of the European Parliament, is a part of a special committee in the EU legislature tasked with investigating the use of Pegasus surveillance software in the European Union.
Authorities in Spain, Poland and Hungary have used the spyware.
Israeli firm NSO has repeatedly stressed its software was meant to track terrorists and criminals and was sold only to government agencies.