Virus attack on phones: the goal is to surround Cristiano

The story of GR GOV SMS traps continued: he announced a virus attack on his phone Vasilis Bornovasex-ambassador of Greece in Kyiv.

A story with suspicious SMS under the guise of GR GOVwhich was previously written about “Athens News”received a continuation. Now he finds himself at the center of the scandal Vasilis Bornovasformer Ambassador of Greece in Kyiv and a person from a close circle Maria Karistianu.

According to Pronewsin recent days there may have been a massive attempt to infect phones through SMS traps simulating a government notification. According to the publication, the target was Maria Caristianuher immediate circle, as well as other politicians, entrepreneurs and journalists.

We are talking about messages on behalf of GR GOVwhich should externally remind the user of the official gov.gr. The text refers to the alleged late payment of the violation and the accrual of additional amounts. A link is attached to the message, which the recipient must click on in a state of anxiety and haste.

Bornovas said he fell for a phishing link

A new resonance arose after the statement Thanasis Avgerinosparty representative “Hope for Democracy”. He said that the victim of such an attack was Vasilis Bornovasformer Greek Ambassador to Ukraine and member of the inner circle Maria Karistianu.

Avgerinos in his publication he wrote that what was happening “incredible things”and democracy, citizens’ rights to private communication, security and freedom are constantly in doubt.

Απίστευτα πράγματα… Η δημοκρατία μας, τα δικαιώματα των πολιτών, όπως στην ιδιωτικότητα της επικοινωνίας, η αφάλεια και η ελευθερία μας όλα υπό διαρκή αμφισβήτηση… https://t.co/c85CltOmSe

— Avgerinos Thanassis (@AvgerinosMoscow) June 5, 2026

He also reposted the message Bornovas V X. Bornovas himself wrote that, unfortunately, he “gotcha”, opened the message, saw a field that looked like gov.grand continued the transition. After that, he expressed concern that his data might already have been stolen, including personal and politically sensitive correspondence.

It is important to present these words accurately: there is no public technical conclusion yet confirming that the phone has been infected with spyware Predator. There is a statement from Bornovas himself that he followed the link and believes that his data could have been stolen. But the very fact that such an attack affected a person close to Caristianu dramatically increases the political significance of the story.

Why doesn’t this look like regular phishing anymore?

Regular SMS scam usually designed for mass recipients: to scare them with a fine, to steal card data, to receive confirmation codes. But if such messages actually come to entrepreneurs, journalists, politicians and people surrounding a new political project, the matter already goes beyond everyday fraud.

Formally, such attacks can be organized by different structures: criminal groups, private cyber contractors, foreign services or domestic political and economic centers. But the choice of goals matters. Phone number of the ex-ambassador associated with the team Karystianais not the phone number of a random “Aunt Motya” who was sent a fake fine before going to bed.

That is why history is perceived through the prism Predatorgate. After the scandal involving surveillance of journalists, politicians and businessmen, Greek society is no longer ready to automatically believe the version “they’re just scammers”. The authorities themselves have created an atmosphere in which every suspicious link in the phone of a public figure begins to look like part of a darker game.

Who is Vasilis Bornovas

Vasilis Bornovas is not a random participant in a political skirmish. He has a long career in the Greek diplomatic corps. According to the message Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairsin December 2019 he presented his credentials to the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky as Ambassador of Greece in Kyiv.

Bornovas also previously served Consul General of Greece in Constantinople and headed Bureau of Political Affairs of Thrace. These data are confirmed by materials from the Greek Foreign Ministry, where he was mentioned as a diplomat transferred to Istanbul after working in Thrace.

In recent years, Bornovas has often appeared in the Greek media as an analyst on international relations, Ukraine, Turkey and foreign policy issues. That is, the possible interest in his phone, if the attack was indeed not accidental, can be explained not only by his connection with Carystianu, but also by his diplomatic past.

Political context: blow to Karystianu’s entourage

Maria Caristianu after the tragedy in Tempi has become one of the most dangerous socio-political symbols for the authorities. Her new project “Hope for Democracy” is trying to gather a protest electorate that does not trust either the government or the old opposition parties.

Therefore, any reports of attempts to access the phones of people from her circle look extremely alarming. Even if technically it turns out to be phishing, politically the question has already been raised: who collects the data, who chooses the targets and why are journalists, politicians, businessmen and now people close to Caristiano again at the center?

Yesterday it looked like a dangerous SMS scheme. Today, after the story with Bornovas, this already looks like a possible operation of digital pressure on a specific political environment. And if the state has nothing to do with it, it should be the first to demand a quick, public and independent investigation.

What should be checked

In such a situation, general warnings in the style of “do not click on suspicious links”. This is useful for citizens, but completely insufficient for a political scandal.

It is necessary to establish what numbers or services the messages were sent from, what domains were used, who registered them, what IP addresses were involved, whether there were attempts to install malware, what data may have been obtained, and whether the recipients match politically sensitive groups.

If the attack was massive and technically primitive, this is one level of threat. If it was aimed at specific political and public figures, this is already a matter of national security and democratic control. In such a story the phrase “we are investigating” without specifics it sounds something like “don’t worry, everything is under control” from people who have already lost control of trust once.

Editorial comment

History with GR GOV and telephone Vasilisa Bornovas shows why the scandal Predator never ended for Greek politics. He may have disappeared from the front pages, but he did not disappear from public distrust. After the phones of journalists, politicians and businessmen have already become the target of surveillance, any new digital attack on people from the political environment is perceived as a continuation of the old disease.

Without technical expertise, it is impossible to say that Bornovas’ phone was infected with the new Predator. It is impossible to say without judicial evidence who exactly is behind this mailing. But we can say it straight: power Kyriakos Mitsotakis she herself created an atmosphere in which such suspicions look not like fantasy, but a working version.

If the majority of society no longer trusts the government, if a new political project appears nearby Karystianaif people from her circle start talking about digital attacks, then it’s not enough for the state to just shrug its shoulders. It must provide answers. Fast, publicly and with technical evidence.

Otherwise, the conclusion will be simple and extremely unpleasant: either the government is unable to protect citizens from digital hunting, or citizens increasingly suspect that hunting is not happening in spite of the system, but with its silent convenience. For democracy, both options sound like a diagnosis.

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