Espionage

Serbia Allegedly Hits 14 Activists With Pegasus Spyware

Is Serbia's security agency strictly following the law or aggressively deploying Pegasus spyware against activists before elections?

SEP 4·Updated SEP 7

Serbia Allegedly Hits 14 Activists With Pegasus Spyware

Story

Above: Graphic summarizing the capabilities of the Pegasus spyware developed by Israeli software firm NSO Group. Image credit: Nicholas Shearman/AFP Infographics/Getty Images

The Facts

Serbia's SHARE Foundation announced Wednesday that at least 14 people, including student movement members, activists, an opposition member of parliament and a local councilor, had allegedly been targeted with advanced spyware in 2026 — the largest documented wave of such surveillance in the country to date.
Reuters
The Star
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto confirmed that a Serbian student activist's iPhone was infected with NSO Group's Pegasus spyware via a zero-click iMessage exploit between December 2025 and January 2026, requiring no interaction from the target.
CyberScoop
Security Affairs
Apple sent threat notifications on Aug. 13 to users in 110 countries, prompting 12 of the Serbian targets to contact SHARE Foundation. Amnesty International's Security Lab separately confirmed two additional infections involving a new variant of NoviSpy spyware on Android devices.
CyberScoop
The Japan Times
Security Affairs
SHARE Foundation said one NoviSpy infection was detected on a student's phone after authorities confiscated it during police questioning, while Serbian parliament speaker Ana Brnabic denied on Wednesday that any students had been spied on, saying "Absolutely not."
US News & World Report
Euractiv
Serbia's Security Information Agency denied involvement Thursday, calling the allegations "trivial sensationalism," while President Aleksandar Vucic said the students had made claims "without a single piece of evidence."
Balkan Insight
TVP World
The spyware targeting coincided with Serbia's March 29 local elections in 10 municipalities and precedes parliamentary elections scheduled for October. A European Parliament member of the Socialists and Democrats group described the forensic confirmation of Pegasus as "a serious escalation" and called on the EU to act.
European Western Balkans
Polskie Radio
Reuters

Sources Split

LEFT

CENTER

RIGHT

ESTAB
CRIT

CENTER

PRO
ESTAB

The Spin

Narrative A

Serbia's security agency follows the law strictly and these spyware claims amount to trivial sensationalism from opposition groups pushing foreign interests. No evidence backs illegal targeting of students or activists before elections. Officials rightly call out the accusations as pointless drama without facts.

Serbia in English on X

Balkan Insight on X

Narrative B

Serbian authorities aggressively deploy mercenary spyware like Pegasus against peaceful student activists and opposition figures to crush dissent before key elections. This marks the largest wave of such illegal surveillance yet and directly threatens pro-democracy efforts. The timing with local and parliamentary votes exposes a clear bid to rig outcomes.

Kenneth Roth on X

Security Affairs