SNA (Bangkok) — The government of Greece and its National Intelligence Service will face a parliamentary investigation after being accused of using invasive cyber-technology to spy on those it deems threats, including a journalist and an opposition party politician.

This scandal, hyped by the local media as the “Greek Watergate,” involves alleged efforts to snoop on Thanasis Koukakis, a financial journalist for CNN Greece, and Nikos Androulakis, the leader of Greece’s opposition socialist Pasok Party and a member of the European Parliament.

Predator, the spyware which has allegedly been used by the country’s intelligence services, is believed to have been created by Crytox Ltd., a North Macedonian startup. In Greece, it is marketed and sold by Intellexa, a company based in Athens.

With an ability to infect both Android and iOS mobile devices, this surveillance malware is installed via a URL link that is clicked by the intended target. After this, Predator is able to record audio, access secured files, photos, internet histories, contacts, and passwords.

In July of last year, the journalist Koukakis received a dubious text message: “Thanasis, do you know about this?” it read. Koukakis clicked the accompanying URL link and, subsequently, Predator infiltrated his phone.

It has been reported that the spyware was used for at least ten weeks to systematically monitor him.

Notably, Greek intelligence services previously wiretapped his phone in June 2020 because, according to them, he posed a threat to national security. The surveillance ended that same August when Koukakis realized that he had been tapped and submitted a complaint to the Greek authorities.

In September 2021, the opposition politician Androulakis was also sent a message with a link containing Predator. Fortunately, he didn’t make the mistake of clicking on it. The message was sent to him only a few days after the government put him under legal surveillance for reasons they have yet to fully elucidate.

Unsurprisingly, reports of these intrusive actions by the government and its National Intelligence Service have been met with condemnation from both domestic and international figures.

“Illegal surveillance of members’ communications is intolerable and inexcusable… such infringements of the principles and values which form the basis of our democratic system cannot be tolerated,” declared Juri Laas, spokesman for the president of the European Parliament.

“Any attempt by national security services to illegally access the data of citizens… is unacceptable,” added a spokeswoman for the European Commission.

The uproar has roiled Greek politics: “Spying on politicians, public figures, journalists, and businessmen isn’t normal,” insisted Michalis Katrinis, an opposition member of parliament.

In response to the mounting backlash, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis denied that he had any prior knowledge of or involvement in illegal surveillance. “I did not know, and obviously I would never have allowed it,” he asserted.

Another Greek minister stated, “The Greek state has not procured any illegal surveillance system from companies, such as Predator.”

Despite these denials, the Greek authorities have been criticized for their lack of transparency and attempts to obfuscate. It also stands in contrast to Mitsotakis’ promise at the time he was elected prime minister in 2019 to run a clean government.

The Greek Watergate fits a pattern of recent scandals in many parts of the world regarding the alleged use of advanced spyware on mobile phones.

In 2021, it was revealed that governments across the globe had purchased Pegasus spyware from the Israel’s NSO Group to spy on activists, journalists, political dissidents, and even heads of state.

Predator has been described as a “clunkier” version of the more sophisticated Israeli malware.

Using zero-click technology, Pegasus is capable of remote installation with no possible way to prevent it. In contrast, Predator requires its target, as mentioned, to click a URL link. Additionally, updating the software patch of a mobile device can sometimes be an effective measure to stop Predator.

At any rate, the Greek crisis underlines how such spyware has been undermining democratic freedoms and boosted unaccountable, authoritarian state practices.

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