Serbian Authorities Investigated for Attempted Spyware Targeting Journalists
BIRN journalists reportedly targeted by Pegasus spyware in Serbia, prompting calls for investigation.
The Balkan Investigative Reporting Network (BIRN) reported that on February 14, two of its journalists received messages within a short time frame from the same number registered with Telekom Srbija.
These messages contained text in Serbian and included a malicious link leading to a fraudulent version of the N1 news portal.
Following suspicions of an attempted spying incident, BIRN sought assistance from the security lab of Amnesty International (AI).
Their forensic analysis confirmed that the journalists were targets of a failed attempt to install Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group.
Amnesty International's investigation indicated a high likelihood that one or more actors from the Serbian state apparatus, or agents working on their behalf, were involved in the alleged attempt to spy on BIRN's journalists.
This incident marks the seventh and eighth such cases in the past two years where AI’s security lab has uncovered the use of spyware 'Pegasus' and 'Novy spy' against media representatives and civil society members in Serbia.
Notably, none of the cases documented by AI in their report last December have been resolved.
The SafeJournalists network has urged international organizations advocating for press freedom, donor institutions, European Union bodies, the Council of Europe, and special UN mechanisms to apply pressure on Serbian authorities to cease unlawful surveillance of journalists.
They have also called upon NSO Group to revoke licenses for users in Serbia, similar to actions taken against Cellebrite, citing the misuse of digital forensic tools.
The SafeJournalists network includes the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the Croatian Journalists’ Association, the BH Journalists Association, the Media Trade Union of Montenegro, and the Journalists’ Association of Macedonia.
These messages contained text in Serbian and included a malicious link leading to a fraudulent version of the N1 news portal.
Following suspicions of an attempted spying incident, BIRN sought assistance from the security lab of Amnesty International (AI).
Their forensic analysis confirmed that the journalists were targets of a failed attempt to install Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group.
Amnesty International's investigation indicated a high likelihood that one or more actors from the Serbian state apparatus, or agents working on their behalf, were involved in the alleged attempt to spy on BIRN's journalists.
This incident marks the seventh and eighth such cases in the past two years where AI’s security lab has uncovered the use of spyware 'Pegasus' and 'Novy spy' against media representatives and civil society members in Serbia.
Notably, none of the cases documented by AI in their report last December have been resolved.
The SafeJournalists network has urged international organizations advocating for press freedom, donor institutions, European Union bodies, the Council of Europe, and special UN mechanisms to apply pressure on Serbian authorities to cease unlawful surveillance of journalists.
They have also called upon NSO Group to revoke licenses for users in Serbia, similar to actions taken against Cellebrite, citing the misuse of digital forensic tools.
The SafeJournalists network includes the Independent Journalists’ Association of Serbia, the Association of Journalists of Kosovo, the Croatian Journalists’ Association, the BH Journalists Association, the Media Trade Union of Montenegro, and the Journalists’ Association of Macedonia.
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