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🇦🇹 Austria /Elections & Politics

Vučić accused of spying on Serbia’s opposition with spyware linked to Sebastian Kurz’s business partner

From Die Presse · () German

Translated from German and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Analysis Named sources Context piece
  • Serbian student activists and government opponents have received Apple warnings about suspected spyware infections, with the Share Foundation confirming suspicions on 12 devices.
  • The spyware identified as Pegasus can remotely access mobile phones and is estimated to cost 50,000 to 100,000 euros per installation.
  • Critics say the technology appears to target opponents and journalists in Serbia, while its developer, NSO Group, markets it for combating terrorism and crime.

An Apple warning alerted Serbian student activist Ognjen Rasić that spyware had allegedly been placed on his iPhone. The message said the software could cost between 50,000 and 100,000 euros and was probably directed specifically at him.

This is an indicator of how afraid the regime is of a group of young people, and what it is prepared to do.

· Ognjen RasićThe Serbian philosophy student described an Apple spyware warning he received.

Rasić described the warning as evidence of the pressure facing Serbia’s student movement. “This is an indicator of how afraid the regime is of a group of young people, and what it is prepared to do,” he said.

Apple recently warned iPhone users in 110 countries about possible spyware infections. In Serbia, the Share Foundation, which focuses on digital rights, examined the phones of 12 warning recipients and again found indications that high-tech surveillance tools had been installed illegally. Foundation spokeswoman Andrijana Djordjević said it was “alarming” that student activists and government opponents appeared to be the main targets.

It is alarming that activists from the student movement and government opponents are mainly being targeted.

· Andrijana DjordjevićThe Share Foundation spokeswoman discussed its examination of suspected spyware infections.

“The use of spyware enables illegal access to all data, not only that of the affected people, but also of all their contacts,” Djordjević said. The cases have emerged as elections approach, a period when Serbian opponents of the government and journalists have repeatedly reported surveillance using software installed on their phones.

The use of spyware enables illegal access to all data, not only that of the affected people, but also of all their contacts.

· Andrijana DjordjevićShe explained the broader privacy risks of the surveillance software.

Pegasus, developed by Israel’s NSO Group, can be installed remotely on a target’s device. The company says it sells the software only to government institutions for the “fight against terrorists and criminals.” Yet Serbian critics say it is being used for systematic surveillance of political opponents. Television journalist Igor Bozić, who says he was targeted between 2023 and 2024, called Pegasus the “perfect tool” for authoritarian regimes because the surveillance remains invisible. NSO co-founder Shalev Hulio now runs the Tel Aviv cybersecurity company Dream with former Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

The perfect tool.

· Igor BozićThe television journalist described Pegasus’s usefulness to authoritarian regimes.
About this summary

Originally published by Die Presse in German. Translated, 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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