After government surveillance was accused, Greece bans the sale of spyware

ATHENS – Monday’s announcement by Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitchells that Greece will ban the sale spyware was made after his government was reported to have targeted dozens of prominent politicians and journalists for surveillance. A judicial investigation was launched.

This is the latest chapter of a scandal that erupted last summer when Mitsotakis revealed that Greece’s state intelligence had been monitoring an opposition leader through traditional wiretapping. The politician found out that he was also being targeted by Predator, a spyware programme.

The Greek government claimed that wiretapping was legal but did not give any details. Mr Mitsotakis stated that it was done without his knowledge. The government also confirmed that Predator spyware is not owned or used by it, and claimed that simultaneous Predator and wiretap targeting was accidental.

Mr. Mitsotakis denies that he was the one who ran Predator’s spyware. “It is an incredible lie,” he stated. He claimed that the Predator was not being used by the Greek secret services, but that someone else could.

He said in a television interview on Monday: “We will be the first country to tackle this problem and enact legislation expressly prohibiting the sale of such software in our country. That has never been done before. All countries have the same problem.”

The use of electronic surveillance tools is being regulated by governments around the globe. This includes Pegasus, a highly offensive cyberspyware made by NSO Group in Israel. Predator is becoming more popular as a less-regulated and cheaper alternative. Smartphones are infiltrated by powerful weapons that pounce on their contents to turn them into recording and listening devices.

It has been used in hacking employees’ phones. Leading news outlet in El SalvadorAlvaro, and other high-profile gadgets Palestinian diplomats. Recent emails suggest that the spyware was also spread by Mexican governmentTo settle the phones between journalists and activists.

Law enforcement and intelligence agents say they use spyware to protect themselves against terrorists and criminals. But it has proven difficult to regulate its use, and ensure that it is not used against journalists or political opponents in Europe, which is supposed to be a strong place. Pegasus was blacklisted by the Biden administration last year. It was banned from doing business in the USA with NSO because the company “contrary” to the United States’ national security interests.

Many details about the situation in Greece remain a mystery. Although the Predator was not being sold, authorities said it was illegally used. Mitsotakis provided no details about the ban on selling spyware or how it would affect spyware usage.

For months, Greek authorities did not respond to journalists or opposition parties’ requests to investigate Predator, Intellexa, an aircraft manufacturer. It moved its headquarters to Greece in 2021 from Cyprus.

Thanassis Kokakis, a Greek journalist and investigative journalist, revealed that he had been hacked with the Predator last year. He also claimed that he had been monitored by Greek intelligence. This claim has not been officially confirmed, but is the subject of a judicial investigation.

Nikos Andrulacis of the Socialist Party, a member in the European Parliament, stated that the Technical Services Office in Brussels had discovered the truth by accident. his phone A text message containing the Predator malware was sent to him. Mr. Androlakis refused to take the bait.

An investigation into the matter of Mr. Androlakis began.

Mr. Mitsotakis acknowledged that the Greek intelligence service had been monitoring Mr. Androlakis through wiretapping traditional telephone conversations under a special order. Surveillance orders were issued for national security reasons. The surveillance was ended by the authorities without any further action.

Documento, a Greek newspaper, reported on Sunday that a suspected network of surveillance had targeted Antonis Saaras, the former conservative prime minster. The current foreign ministers and finance ministers were also targeted. (The next Greek elections must take place before the summer 2023.

The report claims that the Predator was used by the Greek intelligence service to conduct surveillance. The news magazine stated that it had sources citing two unnamed individuals who were key players in the surveillance. However, the magazine did not provide evidence to support its claims.

The accusations caused a political uproar. Giannis OKonomou, the government’s spokesperson, stated that they were not supported with evidence and called Costas Vakhvanis, the magazine publisher, a “national outlander”.

Vexefanis is an investigative journalist widely believed to have close ties with Syriza’s left-wing opposition party Syriza. He said he has compelling evidence including recordings and will share all of it in due course. He visited Greece’s Supreme Court on Monday after the public prosecutor had ordered an investigation into the allegations.

Syriza’s spokesperson, Nassos Eliopoulos denounced authorities for failing to provide convincing answers about the work of Greek intelligence, and for not investigating Intellexa.

Documento’s allegations were made after a European Parliament committee that investigated the use of surveillance malware urged Greek authorities to conduct a deeper probe.

The results of the Greek parliamentary inquiry were not conclusive. Legislators from the ruling party did not find any evidence of wrongdoing. The opposition called it a cover up.

Nikki KitsantonisReport from Athena, Matina Stevis GridnevFrom New York.