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Two former Polish intelligence chiefs have been charged over their use of Israeli-made Pegasus spyware, with prosecutors alleging the surveillance tool may have compromised classified information, including materials designated "secret" or "top-secret."
The former heads of Poland's ABW internal security agency and SKW military counterintelligence service each face up to three years in prison for allegedly failing in their official duties. According to the National Prosecutors Office, the Pegasus system "did not have the required IT security accreditation," raising concerns that its deployment put sensitive state operations at risk.
Prosecutors said the two officials, identified under Polish privacy law as former ABW head Piotr P. and ex-SKW chief Maciej M., used the spyware "despite being aware of the risk of compromising" their agencies' activities. Piotr P. led the ABW from 2015 to 2016, while Maciej Materka, who later identified himself publicly in a social media post condemning the charges, headed the SKW from 2018 to 2022.
Both men served under the nationalist Law and Justice (PIS) party government. The current ruling coalition, which came to power in 2023, has alleged that Pegasus was also used to monitor its members before they took office.
Materka pushed back forcefully against the allegations. "It was my duty as head of the SKW to provide SKW officers with the necessary and best possible tools for the performance of their statutory tasks," he wrote on X following the prosecutors' announcement.
He maintained that all operational activities under his leadership were undertaken "exclusively on the basis of decisions and court approvals required by law," and said he had "served Poland with an impeccable record" for 24 years.
Prosecutors said both former officials denied the alleged acts and "refused to give explanations" during questioning.
The cases are part of a wider legal reckoning over the use of Pegasus in Poland. Former justice minister and attorney general Zbigniew Ziobro, who served from 2015 to 2023, faces far more severe consequences, with charges carrying up to 25 years in prison. Ziobro is accused of abuse of power and other offenses, including allegedly diverting funds meant for crime victims to purchase the Pegasus spyware for the surveillance of political opponents.
Pegasus, developed by Israel's NSO Group, is a powerful surveillance tool capable of covertly infiltrating smartphones and extracting messages, emails, photos, and other data, often without any action required by the target.
The spyware has drawn international condemnation after investigations revealed its use by multiple governments against journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and lawyers.
NSO Group has maintained that it sells the technology only to vetted government clients for use against serious crime and terrorism, but the repeated emergence of politically motivated surveillance cases has fueled calls for tighter regulation of the commercial spyware industry worldwide.
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