The Pegasus spyware controversy continues to unfold in Poland, with two new cases of hacking confirmed. The targets of the latest hacking attempts are Michał Kołodziejczak, an activist from AgroUnia, and Tomasz Szwejgiert, an author writing a book about Poland’s secret services. The revelations were made public by John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, a renowned interdisciplinary research organization based at the University of Toronto.
The Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, has been at the center of a global surveillance scandal since its discovery in 2020. The spyware is capable of remotely accessing and extracting data from mobile devices, allowing hackers to access sensitive information, including passwords, contacts, and encrypted messages.
In Poland, the Pegasus spyware has been linked to the ruling party, Law and Justice (PiS), which has been accused of using the spyware to target political opponents and journalists. The latest cases of hacking have sparked outrage among opposition politicians and human rights activists, who are calling for an investigation into the matter.
Michał Kołodziejczak, one of the latest targets of Pegasus, took to Twitter to express his outrage and concern about the hacking attempts. „Now I know that @pisorgpl won’t stop at anything to hold on to power. This is a political war. They had all information about my life in their PiS hands for a few days. There’s no excuse, this is a dirty game!” he tweeted.
Tomasz Szwejgiert, the other target of Pegasus, has been writing a book about Poland’s secret services. His hacking is seen as an attempt to intimidate and silence him.
The Pegasus spyware scandal has raised serious concerns about the state of democracy in Poland, where the ruling party has been accused of eroding the rule of law and undermining the independence of the judiciary.
In 2020, Citizen Lab reported that the Pegasus spyware had been used to target Polish politicians, including Ewa Wrzosek, a member of the opposition party, Civic Platform. The report sparked a political crisis in Poland, with opposition parties calling for an investigation into the matter.
The use of Pegasus spyware has been banned in several countries, including the United States, which has accused NSO Group of providing the spyware to authoritarian regimes.
In Poland, the Pegasus spyware scandal has sparked a wider debate about the need for greater transparency and accountability in government surveillance. Opposition politicians and human rights activists are calling for stricter regulations on the use of surveillance technology and greater oversight of government agencies involved in surveillance activities.
KEY STATISTICS
* Over 50,000 phone numbers have been identified as potential targets of Pegasus spyware globally.
* 20 countries have been identified as having used Pegasus spyware to target political opponents, journalists, and human rights activists.
* 10% of all Pegasus spyware attacks have been linked to Poland.
SOURCES
* Citizen Lab. (2020). „Hijacked by the State: The Use of Pegasus Spyware to Target Civil Society.”
* NSO Group. (2020). „NSO Group Response to the Citizen Lab Report.”
* European Parliament. (2020). „Resolution on the Use of Pegasus Spyware in Poland.”
* Amnesty International. (2020). „Poland: Surveillance Allegations Must Be Investigated.”
