The logo of NSO Group, the Israeli company that developed the Pegasus spyware. Credit: SOPA Images, SOPA Images Limited / Alamy / Profimedia
Piotr Pogonowski, former head of the Polish Internal Security Agency (ABW), and Maciej Materka, former head of the Polish Military Counterintelligence Service (SKW), have been charged with misconduct in public office in an investigation into the former Warsaw government's use of the controversial Pegasus spy software, according to The Guardian.
With the help of Pegasus, a tool developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, the operator can secretly enter the target's mobile phone, access data from secure messaging applications and even turn the device into a voice recorder.
Prosecutors accuse the two, among other things, of allowing the use of the spyware even though they did not obtain the necessary authorizations. They risk up to 3 years in prison, according to the statement sent on Wednesday by the Polish Prosecutor General.
In 2021, a consortium of media outlets, including The Guardian, accessed a data leak that said thousands of phone numbers in various countries had been targeted by Pegasus. The data also showed that the spyware tool had been used against the media and civil society in numerous places, including Hungary.
Hundreds of people targeted by PiS with the help of Pegasus, claims the Tusk government
After coming to power, the government led by Donald Tusk promised to investigate the allegations that targeted the former government, the nationalist and conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, so in March 2024 an investigation into the use of Pegasus was initiated.
Former justice minister Adam Bodnar claimed that PiS used this software to spy on 578 people, including many politicians and opposition members critical of the nationalist government, according to TVP World.
Matej Materka headed SKW from 2018 to 2022, while Piotr Pogonowski was at the helm of ABW from 2016 to 2020, when he joined the board of the National Bank of Poland, according to Polskie Radio.
In May 2025, Materka told the parliamentary committee on the use of Pegasus that he did not take part in the discussions regarding the acquisition and that he only learned about such systems after he became head of SKW in 2018.
Pogonowski was brought before the commission on December 2, 2024, after failing to appear three times.
He stated that ABW has assessed the operation, effectiveness and security of Pegasus, arguing that the tool is legal in accordance with Polish law and the rulings of the Constitutional Court.
The former head of the ABW also claimed that advanced operational methods helped protect Poland from threats such as terrorism and espionage.
