Citizen Lab announced Monday that the iPhone of Vladan Djokic, rector of the University of Belgrade, was infected with Pegasus, the spyware built by the Israeli company NSO Group.

The finding landed less than a week before Serbia’s parliamentary election on Sunday, according to the Canadian research group and Reuters.

The Toronto-based lab also reported that Rade Bajic, a former prosecutor, received an Apple notification warning that his device had been targeted with mercenary spyware. Neither Bajic nor the researchers could say for certain whether his phone was actually breached.

Pegasus is marketed by NSO Group, an Israeli firm that says it supplies its tools only to government clients. Washington placed the company on a trade blacklist in 2021 after years of reports linking its products to human rights abuses.

Rector’s phone compromised through a zero-click attack

Working with the SHARE Foundation, a Serbian digital rights group, Citizen Lab concluded with high confidence that Djokic’s phone was compromised this year. The attack required no click or file opening from the victim. 

Forensic material was collected from the device at his request and with his consent, and the research group said its work on the case continues.

Djokic described the hacking as a grave violation of his privacy and security and of the office he holds, and demanded that those responsible face punishment.

He has been a prominent ally of the student movement that has challenged the government for nearly two years, and he refused to help authorities crack down on protesters. Police raided his offices on March 31 and reportedly took computers and servers. He had also been floated as a possible leader of the Student List in the October 25 vote, until September.

Source:Websites