The SHARE Foundation documented at least 14 Serbian students and opposition activists targeted with Pegasus or NoviSpy spyware in 2026. Citizen Lab independently confirmed Pegasus infection in at least one case, according to the Financial Times. The documented targets are civil society figures: students and political activists, not government officials or foreign intelligence targets.
WHAT PEGASUS AND NOVISPY ARE
▸ Pegasus: developed by Israeli company NSO Group; a commercial spyware product sold to governments; it can silently access all data on a target’s phone including messages, emails, location, and microphone and camera; its sale is supposed to be limited to governments for law enforcement purposes
▸ NoviSpy: a Serbian-developed spyware; less publicly documented than Pegasus; targeted at similar surveillance objectives
▸ Citizen Lab: the University of Toronto’s digital rights research group that has produced the most comprehensive independent documentation of commercial spyware deployment globally
THE EUROPEAN DEMOCRACY DIMENSION
Serbia is a European democracy — a candidate for EU membership. The documented use of Israeli and domestic commercial spyware against students and opposition activists in a European democracy-candidate nation is a specific civil liberties accountability that the EU accession process is supposed to address. Whether the documented spyware use affects Serbia’s EU accession path is the specific institutional accountability question.
14 Serbian students and activists. Phones infiltrated. Pegasus confirmed by Citizen Lab. NoviSpy too. Serbia is an EU candidate. The EU accession process is supposed to produce rule-of-law accountability. The spyware is documented.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT
▸ Serbian government response — whether authorities acknowledge the spyware use
▸ EU accession — whether the documented spyware use produces formal EU rule-of-law concerns
▸ NSO Group — whether the Pegasus documentation produces any accountability for the spyware provider
| CONFIDENCE: HIGH | SHARE Foundation 14 Serbian students activists Pegasus NoviSpy spyware, Citizen Lab independent Pegasus confirmation, Financial Times reporting from confirmed reporting. |
SOURCES
▸ Financial Times / SHARE Foundation / Citizen Lab — Serbia spyware students activists September 12 2026
