Hungary Admits to Using Pegasus Spyware

The Hungarian government has acknowledged purchasing and using the commercial spyware Pegasus, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group. Lajos Kósa, head of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Law Enforcement, informed journalists that Hungary had acquired access to the controversial spyware, but claimed it was only used with the authorization of a judge or the Ministry of Justice. This makes Hungary the first European country to become a client of NSO Group.

The parliamentary committee, whose transcripts are sealed and classified until 2050—a fact that shocked Hungarian journalists this week—was established after a global journalistic investigation revealed that the Hungarian government had used Pegasus to surveil local journalists, government critics, and opposition members.

According to the investigation, more than 300 people in Hungary were targeted by the spyware. The revelations sparked numerous calls for an official investigation into the government’s actions and even led to street protests in Budapest. The government, however, refused to officially confirm any of the investigation’s findings, promising only to look into the matter.

Nevertheless, just hours after Kósa’s unexpected statements following the parliamentary committee meeting—which was supposed to be confidential—the Hungarian Ministry of the Interior attempted to distance itself from the lawmaker’s remarks. “The Ministry of the Interior has never commented on or discussed statements made by members of parliament after committee meetings,” the ministry’s press service told the local newspaper Telex.

The press service also emphasized that the Hungarian government does not engage in illegal surveillance of its citizens.