Greek prosecutor drops case against spy service over malware use

Greek prosecutor drops case against spy service over malware use

Greece’s Supreme Court prosecutor has shelved a case against the intelligence service, EYP, as a preliminary probe by the court showed no evidence that the agency used illegal phone malware to spy on targets, the Athens News Agency reported on Tuesday.

The case stemmed from allegations by an opposition party leader and a journalist in 2022 that they had been under state surveillance via phone malware.

Journalist Thanasis Koukakis, who was being monitored by EYP according to court documents, said his phone had been infected by Predator spyware developed by Cytrox, a surveillance company in the Greece-based Intellexa consortium.

Traces of Predator were later found in dozens of phones, including those of politicians, journalists and businessmen, according to an independent telecom privacy authority ADAE.

"There was absolutely no involvement of any state agency, including the National Intelligence Service (EYP) ... or any government official with the spyware Predator or any other similar software," the prosecutor said in a statement wrapping up a preliminary investigation into the case, according to the Athens News Agency report.

The 2022 allegations, made amid growing concern in the European Union about the use of spyware, raised questions about protection of private communications in Greece, and prompted the resignations of then-head of EYP Panagiotis Kontoleon and the general secretary to the prime minister.

Kontoleon, EYP chief from 2019 to 2022, denied allegations that the intelligence service used such malware when he testified in May as a witness over the case, according to court documents seen by Reuters.

The prosecutor said a court should examine the validity of accusations against legal representatives of private companies that handled Predator and were involved in the case.

Intellexa's founder Tal Dilian, who testified in July, has denied any involvement in the case or wrongdoing.

Some of EYP's targets during that period were the same people whose phones were infected with Predator, said an experts' report included in the court documents.