Poland’s Previous Government Monitored Hundreds with Spyware
The Pegasus Spyware Scandal Unfolds in Poland
Minister of Justice and Chief Public Prosecutor Bodnar recently addressed the Sejm, the lower house of the Polish Parliament, regarding a scandal involving the use of Pegasus spyware by government officials.
Bodnar revealed that officials from the government of former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, predecessor to Donald Tusk, had utilized the controversial spyware. The Minister described the situation as both “shocking and saddening.”
According to the Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, three institutions under the previous government’s authority had accessed “personal and professional” information of 578 individuals using Pegasus spyware between 2017 and 2022. The identities of those targeted by the spyware during this period were allegedly kept secret.
In response to these revelations, the new Polish parliament, established after the elections in October 2023, formed a special commission to investigate the allegations of Pegasus spyware misuse by former government officials.
During a press conference in February 2024, President Andrzej Duda stood alongside Donald Tusk as the latter accused officials from Morawiecki’s administration of unlawfully employing the Pegasus spyware.
The contentious software in question, Pegasus, was developed by the Israeli cybersecurity firm NSO Group and has been associated with espionage activities including phone call eavesdropping, audio recording, email tracking, and unauthorized photo retrieval from users’ phones worldwide.
As the Pegasus spyware scandal continues to unfold in Poland, the public and international community await further developments and accountability for those involved in the alleged misuse of this invasive technology.
