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Greece's Predator Scandal Rooted in Cyprus, Journalist Claims
🇬🇷 Greece /Crime & Justice

Greece's Predator Scandal Rooted in Cyprus, Journalist Claims

From Ta Nea · () Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • A Cypriot investigative journalist links Greece's Predator spyware scandal to earlier developments in Cyprus.
  • He claims Israeli spyware companies established a base in Cyprus, leveraging its EU status to develop technology and export commercial surveillance software.
  • The journalist suggests Cyprus became a hub for the global spyware industry, with the Greek case being the final stage of a longer trajectory.

The ongoing spyware scandal in Greece, involving the Predator surveillance software, is intricately linked to events that unfolded years earlier in Cyprus, according to Cypriot investigative journalist Fanis Makridis. He asserts that the Greek case represents the culmination of a history that began on the island.

The wiretapping case in Greece cannot be interpreted in isolation from what preceded it in Cyprus.

— Fanis MakridisCypriot investigative journalist linking the Greek spyware scandal to Cyprus.

Makridis explains that Israeli cyber-surveillance companies established a significant presence in Cyprus. They utilized the island's European Union status to develop advanced technology, facilitate exports, and create a network of companies that later became associated with the Predator case in Greece. He argues that Cyprus evolved into a central hub for the global spyware industry, rather than merely a location for isolated company operations.

Cyprus evolved into a hub of the global spyware industry and not just a country where individual companies operated.

— Fanis MakridisCypriot investigative journalist describing Cyprus's role in the spyware market.

While international attention in 2019 focused on Tal Dilian's infamous "black van," Makridis believes a more substantial, though less publicized, operation was underway. He points to the installation of surveillance systems near Larnaca Airport, suggesting their intelligence-gathering capabilities far exceeded what was publicly disclosed. The "black van," in his view, was merely the most visible manifestation of a much larger mechanism.

The 'black van' was only the most visible image of a much broader mechanism.

— Fanis MakridisCypriot investigative journalist downplaying the significance of the 'black van' incident in the larger spyware context.

Furthermore, Makridis highlights findings from Cypriot authorities' investigations, which reportedly uncovered servers and digital infrastructure capable of accessing or managing data from over 9.5 million devices. This discovery underscores the true scale of the spyware operations developed in Cyprus. He also touches upon the connections between these spyware companies and the Cypriot political system, citing evidence of political interference, contacts with government officials, and facilitation of these companies' activities, including electronic correspondence between Dilian and Cypriot political figures.

This finding demonstrates the real size of the operations that had been developed in Cyprus.

— Fanis MakridisCypriot investigative journalist referring to the scale of spyware operations discovered in Cyprus.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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