Former Polish intelligence heads charged over Israeli spyware

Feb 26, 2026

Other officials in Poland face charges over the use of the Pegasus system

Two former Polish intelligence chiefs have been charged over their use of Israeli Pegasus spyware, which prosecutors alleged Wednesday may have compromised classified information.

The pair, who led Poland’s ABW internal security agency and SKW military counterintelligence service, each face up to three years in prison for failing in their official duties.

According to the National Prosecutors Office, the Pegasus system “did not have the required IT security accreditation”.

Former ABW head Piotr P and ex-SKW head Maciej M allegedly used the spyware “despite being aware of the risk of compromising” the agency’s activities, including “secret” or “top-secret” information, the office wrote in a press release.

The prosecutors witheld their last names under Polish privacy law but former SKW chief Maciej Materka later named himself in a social media post condemning the action.

Piotr P ran the ABW from 2015-2016, while Materka ran the SKW from 2018-2022.

Both served in the government of the Law and Justice (PiS) party. Jarosław Kaczyński, the party’s leader, was questioned at a hearing before a parliamentary committee investigating its use of Pegasus spyware. The previous government was suspected of using this software in an unauthorized way against political opponents, lawyers, and journalists. The current government alleges that the Pegasus spyware was also used to monitor them before they came to power in 2023.

The prosecutors said that both had denied the alleged acts and “refused to give explanations” during questioning.

“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,” Materka wrote on X following the prosectutors’ announcement.

“All operational activities carried out during my leadership of the SKW were undertaken exclusively on the basis of decisions and court approvals required by law,” he said, adding that he “served Poland with an impeccable record” for 24 years.

Other officials in Poland face charges over the use of the Pegasus system.

Former justice minister and attorney general Zbigniew Ziobro, who was in office from 2015-2023, faces up to 25 years in prison on abuse of power and other charges – including using funds meant for crime victims to buy Pegasus spyware, allegedly to monitor political opponents.
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