Former Greek intelligence chief denies using spyware

The former head of Greece's intelligence service has told a court that the agency did not use illegal malware on phones for spying between 2019 and 2022.

Reuters reports this, citing court documents. The scandal erupted in August 2022 after it became known that the government had tapped the phone of the leader of the opposition socialist party Pasok, Nikos Androulakis.

Over the course of a year, human rights groups, investigative journalists and Greece's communications regulator ADAE revealed that the state intelligence agency had a growing network of politicians and journalists under surveillance.

Former head of the Greek intelligence service EYP Panagiotis Kontoleon was one of the few to resign over the developments. He led EYP from 2019 to 2022 and testified in closed hearings in May as a witness in a case that raised questions about the protection of private communications in Greece. He told the judges:

“During my tenure, I categorically state this, EYP did not purchase, lease or use illegal Predator spyware.”

That's according to documents seen by Reuters. Some of EYP's targets during that period were the same people whose phones were infected with Predator, the report says.

In 2022, the government said Kontoleon resigned “following erroneous actions identified during lawful wiretapping procedures.” It is not specified what actions exactly are being discussed.

The former intelligence chief testified that during his tenure, all requirements for any wiretapping were met and any such request had to be authorized by a prosecutor.

Grigoris Dimitriadis, the resigning general secretary who was EYP's political curator in 2021-22, also revealed that The service did not use such software.

Predator, a spyware, allows hackers to gain full access to victims' devices, including microphones, cameras, text messages and applications. It found itself at the centre of a political scandal that rocked Greek politics in 2022.

Intellexa has sold Predator to Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, as well as to countries with a history of human rights abuses, including Qatar, Congo, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Vietnam. The consortium was formed after Israeli company NSO Group, once the popular Pegasus software developer, was forced to withdraw from the global spyware market.

Let us recall that last month The European Parliament has asked members of its defence subcommittee to check their phones for spyware after two devices showed signs of being hacked.

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