After continually deflecting accusations that it surveilled droves of politicians and journalists using invasive phone-tapping software, the Greek government has decided to ban the sale of spyware altogether. But the government also wants everybody to know that this is in no way an admission of guilt and that it definitely didn’t do anything wrong, thank you very much.
“We won’t allow any shadow to remain on issues that poison Greek society,” a government spokesperson told journalists on Monday.
Understanding what people are calling Greece’s spyware-fueled “Watergate” is a little complicated, and requires a bit of a digression.
This whole thing started back in July, when Nikos Androulakis, a Greek politician and member of the European parliament, was discovered to have been targeted with a mobile spyware known as “Predator.” Known for its ability to secretly infiltrate and steal data from mobile devices, Predator is sold by the company Cytrox, based in North Macedonia. Androulakis obviously was not pleased with the news that he had been targeted and suggested that someone promptly investigate what happened.
At the time, suspicions were raised that the culprit might be the Greek government. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, the nation’s prime minister, subsequently denied any wrongdoing and suggested that the incident be investigated.
G/O Media may get a commission
If Greece does pass a ban on spyware use within the country, that would definitely be a step in the right direction for online privacy and security, though, surely, not the end of the story as far as the abuses committed by the commercial surveillance industry go.
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