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๐Ÿ‡ฌ๐Ÿ‡ง United Kingdom /Technology

At least 14 Serbians targeted with advanced spyware

From The Guardian · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources Ongoing story
  • At least 14 Serbian civil society figures were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year, according to the digital rights group Share Foundation.
  • Citizen Lab found that at least one target was attacked with NSO Groupโ€™s Pegasus spyware, which can give an attacker total access to a device.
  • Share linked the timing to March local elections and suggested the attacks could have tested surveillance capabilities before October snap elections, while officials denied spying on students.

At least 14 people from Serbian civil society were targeted with advanced spyware earlier this year, in what the Share Foundation describes as the largest documented wave of such infections in Serbia.

Absolutely not. I do not believe a single word theyโ€™ve said.

· Ana Brnabiฤ‡The Serbian parliamentary speaker denied that students had been spied on.

The infections came to light in August, after Apple notified people in 110 countries that they might have been targeted by mercenary spyware. Citizen Lab, which conducts forensic investigations of spyware attacks, said on Wednesday that at least one Serbian target had been attacked with Pegasus, the spyware made by NSO Group. It would have given the attacker โ€œtotal access to the device.โ€

Share said the targets included members of Serbiaโ€™s student movement, which emerged from nationwide protests after a train station collapse in the winter of 2024 and has challenged President Aleksandar Vuฤiฤ‡โ€™s government. The group said the timing of the attacks, during Marchโ€™s local elections, may indicate a trial run before snap elections scheduled for October.

This is the largest documented wave of surveillance in Serbia so far.

· Andrijana RisticThe Share Foundation policy adviser described the scale of the reported spyware attacks.

โ€œWe imagine โ€ฆ that the local elections were basically used as a test for the ruling party to see the spywareโ€™s strengths, but also to see the amount of pressure they are able to exert over the students and the opposition,โ€ said Andrijana Ristic, a Share policy adviser. Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton said the findings showed Serbiaโ€™s peaceful pro-democracy movement was being aggressively targeted ahead of key 2026 election cycles.

Our forensic findings, and this fresh wave of Apple threat notifications reveal that Serbiaโ€™s peaceful pro-democracy movement is being aggressively targeted with mercenary spyware ahead of key 2026 election cycles.

· John Scott-RailtonThe Citizen Lab senior researcher assessed the findings and their timing.

The government denied responsibility. Ana Brnabiฤ‡, Serbiaโ€™s parliamentary speaker and a senior member of the ruling Serbian Progressive Party, rejected claims that students had been monitored. One targeted student, Milica Popoviฤ‡, called the attacks cruel but said they would not deter her or the movement: โ€œIf their intention was to frighten us, or make us stop, it will not work.โ€

If their intention was to frighten us, or make us stop, it will not work.

· Milica Popoviฤ‡The targeted student said the attack would not deter her or the student movement.
About this summary

Originally published by The Guardian. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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