Pegasus found on Serbian critics' phones before elections
Original title: Spyware found on devices belonging to prominent Serbian critics as elections loom
Citizen Lab reports a zero-click Pegasus infection on a Belgrade rector's phone in 2026; a prosecutor's spyware type is still unidentified.
SHARE Foundation and Citizen Lab say spyware was found on devices used by University of Belgrade rector Vladan Đokić and organized-crime prosecutor Rade Bajić. Citizen Lab reports high confidence that Đokić's phone was infected with NSO Group's Pegasus in 2026 through a zero-click exploit that needed no click or file open. Bajić received an Apple threat notification, but neither group has identified the spyware, and that review continues. The cases follow a September wave SHARE called the largest documented spyware surveillance in Serbia, ahead of October 25 parliamentary elections.
Unconfirmed: The spyware on Bajić's device is unidentified, and SHARE did not disclose when Đokić's infection was found.
- SHARE calls Đokić's case the second confirmed Pegasus infection in Serbia this year.
- The September wave covered 14 people, including an MP and a local official, with Pegasus and a new NoviSpy.
- Citizen Lab says no user action was required for the Đokić infection.
- Bajić links the targeting to his work on a Belgrade development corruption case.
- Serbia's parliamentary elections are scheduled for October 25.
Impact: Zero-click spyware infection of a phone
- Vendors
- NSO Group
- Victims
- University of Belgrade
- Organizations
- SHARE FoundationCitizen Lab
- Countries
- Serbia
From the original article
5 min read at cyberscoop.com
The confirmed and suspected targets include a university rector backing Serbia's protests and a prosecutor who investigated a Trump-linked Belgrade development, weeks before parliamentary elections. The post Spyware found on devices belonging to prominent Serbian critics as elections loom appeared first on CyberScoop.
By Greg Otto · cyberscoop.com
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