Secretary General of National Security and Advisor to the Prime Minister of Greece Thanos Dokos became a victim of a telephone prank by Russian pranksters Vovan and Lexus.
They introduced themselves as the National Security Advisor to the President of Ukraine Rustem Umerov and his assistant and brought him out to talk about possible drone attacks near the Greek islands, Russian shipping, elections in Greece and risks to tourism.
Government sources at the Prime Minister’s residence called the incident “hybrid attack” using “extremely advanced artificial intelligence technologies.” However, the pranksters themselves said that everything turned out to be much more prosaic: according to their version, they simply sent an email from a regular Gmail address to Dokos’ office and received a response.
The main thing is several points
- Vovan and Lexus introduced themselves as Ukrainian officials and contacted Thanos Dokos.
- During the conversation, the risk of a new incident with a Ukrainian drone near the Greek islands was discussed.
- Dokos spoke about the possible consequences for tourism, government and Athens’ relations with Kiev.
- He mentioned the upcoming elections in Greece and the danger of a “hot episode” at the height of the tourist season.
- Government sources say no classified or sensitive information was leaked.
- PASOK demanded Dokos’ resignation.
- Pranksters ridiculed the version of “advanced AI” and said that they used a regular letter via Gmail.
Talk about drones and the “hot episode”
As follows from the published fragments of the conversation, the pranksters introduced themselves as people from the Ukrainian security system and started talking about a possible repeat of the drone incident off the Greek coast.
They claimed that the Ukrainian Defense Minister was acting arbitrarily, was not listening to the president, and could continue to send drones into Greek waters to attack Russian ships and the yachts of Russian billionaires.
Dokos, judging by the published video, reacted seriously to the script. He warned that the new incident could create severe problems for Athens, especially during the tourist season.
“We understand the needs of war, but we do not want it to be fought on our territory,” convey his words Greek media.
He also spoke of possible damage to relations between Athens and Kiev and questioned whether an attack on a Russian ship was worth the risk of losing Greek support.
Elections, tourism and political nervousness
Particularly painful for the government was Dokos’s phrase about the elections, which “will take place in a few months.” He linked the possible drone incident not only to security issues, but also to political consequences for the cabinet.
The conversation mentioned the risk of a blow to tourism if a serious incident with a military drone occurs near the Greek islands or in the country’s territorial waters.
This in itself is not a sensation: any crisis in the Aegean or Ionian Sea in the middle of summer will hit the tourism sector. But when such assessments are made by the Prime Minister’s adviser in a conversation with people whom he considers foreign officials, the situation no longer looks like ordinary working diplomacy, but like a failure of basic verification of the interlocutor.
Drone incident near Lefkada
The pranksters used a topic in conversation that was already extremely sensitive for Athens: in early May, Greek fishermen discovered a naval drone, presumably of Ukrainian origin, with an explosive off Lefkada.
It was this story, according to Greek media, that became the basis for the prank legend. The false warning about a new drone was plausible enough to prompt a high-ranking official to have a frank conversation.
Dokos also mentioned that the head ΕΥΠ is in Kyiv at meetings with Ukrainian colleagues. The authorities claim that this was not about classified information, but the very willingness to discuss such details with an unverified interlocutor has already become the subject of a political scandal.
“Hybrid attack” or regular test failure?
Sources at the Prime Minister’s House said it was a “hybrid attack” involving penetration of security protocols and the use of “extremely advanced artificial intelligence technologies.” At the same time, the authorities assured that no leak of classified data had occurred.
But Vovan, one of the participants in the prank, publicly ridiculed this explanation. According to him, no sophisticated technology was needed: they allegedly sent a regular letter from Gmail to Dokos’s office, received a response and then set up a conversation.
If this version is correct, the problem looks even worse. Not because someone used “state-of-the-art AI,” but because a national security position was vulnerable to basic imitation of official communications.
PASOK demands resignation
The main opposition party PASOK demanded Dokos’ resignation. The party statement said that the adviser to the prime minister discussed political assessments, elections and information about the visit of the head of ΕΥΠ to Kyiv with people who turned out to be Russian pranksters.
The opposition demands explanations: what specific verification protocols were violated, why a high-ranking official was in touch with unknown persons, and whether similar attempts were made against other representatives of the Greek state.
So far, the government has not officially announced personnel decisions. According to SKAI, Dokos must publicly comment on the story on the TV channel.
Editorial comment
The story is awkward not because a senior official was alarmed by drones off the Greek coast. It is normal to feel anxious in such a situation. Another thing is abnormal: the person responsible for national security finds himself in a position where he can be brought into conversation through a legend built on a fresh and painful incident.
The version of a “hybrid attack with extremely advanced artificial intelligence” sounds impressive, but for now it looks more like an attempt to wrap an ordinary human error in a technological package. If pranksters really limited themselves to a letter from Gmail and a convincing role, then the problem is not with artificial intelligence. The problem is that the security system did not work the most banal check: who exactly is calling and on whose behalf.
At the same time, the conversation itself showed something more important. Athens is well aware of how dangerous the transfer of the Ukrainian war to space near Greece could be. Not necessarily through direct military conflict. It only takes one drone, one explosion, one misinterpreted episode at the height of the season to hit tourism, the market, relations with Kiev and domestic politics.
The question now is not only about the fate of Thanos Dokos. The question is how many more key officials can be brought to open conversation before the state stops explaining such stories as “hybrid attacks” and begins to correct its own security procedures.
Sources: Dnews, Εφημερίδα των Συντακτών, euronews.
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