New Spyware Cases: University of Belgrade and Prosecutor’s Office Targeted

New cases of spyware used against university and prosecution officials raise serious concerns about the scale of digital surveillance and the independence of institutions in Serbia.

Citizen Lab, working with SHARE Foundation, has confirmed two new cases of targeting with advanced spyware. This time, the targets were University of Belgrade Rector Vladan Đokić and Rade Bajić, a senior prosecutorial associate at the Prosecutor’s Office for Organized Crime.

Professor Đokić’s phone was confirmed to have been infected in 2026 with Pegasus, spyware made by the Israeli company NSO Group, through a zero-click attack. Rector Rector Đokić is well known to the general public for his commitment to preserving university autonomy and his support for student protests despite mounting pressure.

In August 2026, Rade Bajić, a senior prosecutorial associate who worked on the “Generalštab” (Army General Staff building) case, in which prosecutors raised the question of criminal liability of government officials, received a threat notification from Apple indicating, with high confidence, that he had been targeted in a mercenary spyware attack.

Expanding Surveillance, No Institutional Accountability

On September 2, SHARE Foundation reported that at least 14 people in Serbia had been targeted with various types of advanced spyware in early 2026. The targets included students, activists, a member of parliament, and an opposition local councilor. The new cases extend this pattern to university and prosecution officials.

Since journalists, activists, and members of civil society were targeted in late 2024, spyware has been used against an ever-wider range of people: farmers in 2025, and then students, activists, and opposition politicians in 2026. This trend shows digital surveillance spreading beyond civil society, journalists, and the student movement to political representatives and to institutions that play a key role in protecting the public interest. At the same time, the lack of accountability and of any effective action on the criminal complaints already filed is allowing this practice to continue and grow.

Surveillance of judicial staff and university officials directly threatens the independence of institutions and their ability to work free from pressure. In the justice system, it can undermine the independence of courts and prosecutors and discourage action in the public interest. At universities, it erodes academic autonomy and freedom of expression. When the institutions meant to protect the public interest become targets of surveillance, it is not just individuals who pay the price, but society as a whole.

These trends are especially concerning ahead of the October 25 parliamentary elections, when protecting freedom of expression, political activity, and privacy is critical. Without an effective investigation, accountability, and a clear message that unlawful surveillance is unacceptable, there is a serious risk that digital repression will continue and spread further, reaching every part of society and every critical voice.

By its function and purpose, spyware can be classified as a computer virus, meaning a program or set of commands that acts on other programs or data on a computer or computer network. Under the Criminal Code of the Republic of Serbia, introducing such a program is a criminal offense. Using spyware means gaining unauthorized access to all the data on a device, deliberately harming not only the targeted user but also everyone else whose data is stored on that device.