Greece granted Intellexa an export license for the Predator
Featured in an extensive New York Times op-ed on the use—legal or illegal— malicious spyware around the world Greece holds. Reference is made both to the history of what has been revealed about the surveillance in the country and to the resignations-dismissal of its heads EYPas well as in its official licensing Intellexa by a service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which allows the “uncontrollable and without any oversight” of its domestic and international distribution Predator based in… the Athenian Riviera.
A technology “once in the hands of a small number of countries is now ubiquitous — transforming the landscape of international government espionage,” the NYT writes. With Greece as a hub and having disrupted its public life. The Greek government has repeatedly labeled the software as illegalsaying she is not related to him.
Greece, however, admitted that it actively supported Intellexa and its malware: by licensing the Israeli company Tal Dilian to export Predator to Madagascar, whose government has a history of corruption and repression of dissent. THE Ukraine he accepted a similar offer, but rejected the offer, perhaps after Israeli intervention.
THE Alexander Papaioannou, a representative of the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs, confirmed that a department of the Ministry issued two export licenses to Intellexa on November 15, 2021, the publication notes. In a sign of the pressure the country is under, Mr Papaioannou said the ministry’s inspector general had launched an internal investigation following press reports about the company. EU law treats spyware as a potential weapon and calls on authorities to grant export licenses after due diligence to prevent its misuse.
The Predator software is at the center of political turmoil in Greece, the NYT writes, after it was revealed that it had been used to infect the phone of a journalist and two opposition politicians. All three suspect that the Greek state ordered their surveillance and have filed lawsuits. The journalist Thanasis Koukakis sue him Tal Dilian and his colleagues at Intellexa.
The Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has denied ordering surveillance through Predator and maintains that the Greek government does not own the software. However, his nephew, who was due to politicize national service, resigned over the scandal in August, although he denies any role. At the same time, the prime minister fired the head of the intelligence service, the newspaper recalls.
And in the same month, Intellexa laid off most of its staff in Athens.
In November, however, Mr Mitsotakis admitted that some were conducting covert operations with the Predator in Greece — but he did not know who, he claimed. “To be clear, I have never claimed – myself and the government – that there are no windows and forces using Predator software,” adding: “Illegal software exists all over Europe.”
The publication talks about the path of Intellexa founder Tal Dilian, a former high-ranking official of the Israeli intelligence serviceswho, after being driven out of his country due to suspicions of mismanagement of resources, became active in Cyprus doing what he knew very well: selling tracking technologies. And then on Athenafrom where she expanded her clientele.
Predator was found to have in others twelve countries from 2021, demonstrating the continued demand among governments and the lack of strong international efforts to limit the use of such tools.
The NYT’s investigation is based on a review of thousands of records — including court document reports in Cyprussecret parliamentary depositions in Greece and undercover investigations by the Israeli military police — as well as interviews with dozens of government and judicial officials, executives and espionage victims in five countries.
And to talk numbers, the NYT publishes a detailed proposal for the cost of using the Predator, which reaches 13.6 million euros for a tracking package of 20 targets. However, the customer can also get “extras”. For example, at a cost of 3.5 million dollars it can monitor targets outside the country and for 950,000 euros it acquires a “suitcase” so that it can infect a mobile phone via Wi-Fi.
*See the Intellexa price list in the Accessories column.