Link: https://notesfrompoland.com/2026/10/12/israeli-producer-had-access-to-data-harvested-by-poland-using-pegasus-spyware-say-prosecutors

Polish prosecutors revealed that data harvested by Poland using Pegasus spyware was transmitted outside Poland and was accessible to the tool's Israeli producer, NSO Group. The findings come from an investigation into the use of Pegasus under the former Law and Justice (PiS) government.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk called it one of the biggest scandals in Polish history since the fall of communism. He said it is beyond any doubt that NSO Group cooperates with Israeli intelligence.

Poland purchased Pegasus from NSO in 2017. The spyware was used against hundreds of targets, including political opponents of the PiS government. Among them was the head of Tusk's 2019 election campaign. Tusk later revealed that his own wife and daughter were also surveilled.

The ABW experts found that Poland's Central Anti-Corruption Bureau (CBA) did not have full control over the Pegasus system. The CBA did not have passwords to access some administrative accounts. The server module responsible for infecting mobile devices remained under the exclusive control of NSO. Data travelled outside Polish territory through servers located in various parts of the world, in a network managed by NSO and beyond the CBA's control. NSO had technical access to materials from operational surveillance.

Tusk said the former PiS authorities signed a contract for a spyware system over which they had no control, because control remained in the hands of Israel and an Israeli company whose cooperation with Israeli intelligence is beyond doubt. He said they paid money for a system that transferred all possible data on Polish citizens, opposition leaders, and independent prosecutors to the Israeli side. He called it a crime against the state.

A parliamentary committee also found that the CBA never obtained the required IT security accreditation for Pegasus. Courts granting authorisation for its use were not informed of its full capabilities, such as access to the entire contents of phones.

Legal proceedings are underway against former officials. The former heads of the ABW and Military Counterintelligence Service were charged with abuse of power. The former head of the CBA was also charged. A former deputy justice minister was indicted over his role in the alleged illegal use of justice ministry funds to help purchase Pegasus.