Intellexa Founder, Three Others Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison Over Greek Spyware Scandal
A Greek court sentenced four Intellexa executives to prison for their role in a 2022 scandal that involved the use of Predator spyware against more than 90 public figures in the country.
Citizen Lab researchers first published evidence of Predator spyware in Greece in late 2021. The Lab later analyzed the phones of journalist Thanasis Koukakis and former trust and safety manager at Meta Artemis Seaford, confirming that they had been infected. A massive spyware operation in the country targeting politicians and public figures was revealed and the resulting scandal was dubbed “Predatorgate.”
Speaking to the ICIJ, senior researcher John Scott-Railton notes that “This is the first time that an executive at a mercenary spy company has been convicted and sentenced to prison.”
In the Record, Scott-Railton predicts that the convictions will make it difficult for the defendants to conduct business, like a “huge ball and chain that Intellexa’s executives are going to be dragging around.”
The court decision is a victory for the journalists that persevered in bringing the case to light, as well as for the ecosystem of organizations that have investigated Predator spyware, including the Citizen Lab and Amnesty Tech, among others.
