What exactly happened?
PASOK-KINAL president Nikos Androulakis almost fell victim to the Predator surveillance software and for this reason, according to information, he proceeded to file a complaint with the Supreme Court prosecutor's office .
See also: Predator spyware infected Android devices using zero-days
What exactly happened?
According to sources at Charilaou Trikoupi, Mr. Androulakis "received a text message on September 21, 2021, shortly before the start of the internal party procedures, on his device inviting him to click on a specific link, which, according to a report by the Citizens Lab of the University of Toronto, is used as bait to install Predator surveillance software on the target's mobile phone."
"The message precisely stated: 'Let's take a serious look at the issue, friend, we have something to gain' and followed the link, which was a falsification of a website that exists and is functioning normally. Although the message appears to have been read an hour after it was received, the fact that Mr. Androulakis never clicked on the link is what seems to have saved him from the worst. In other words, there was an attempt to trap Mr. Androulakis' phone, which was prevented thanks to Mr. Androulakis's foresight not to follow the link that would trap his phone. It is noted that in the more than 200 checks of MEPs' mobile phones that have been carried out by the European Parliament, this was the first case in which an attempt to infect a personal telephone device was detected," the same sources emphasized.
According to Charilaou Trikoupi, in addition to the complaint filed today with the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms. Vera Jourova, the responsible Commissioner, Mr. Didier Reynders, the President of the Socialist Group, Ms. Iratxe Garcia Perez, the President of the European Parliament, Ms. Roberta Metsola, and members of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry for the investigation of the use of the Pegasus software and corresponding spying and monitoring software have been informed of the matter by letters.
KINAL sources emphasize that this is "a serious case of attempted violation of the confidentiality of telephone communications in Greece. Not only was an attempt made to violate Mr. Androulakis' privacy and the confidentiality of his communications, which according to the Constitution is absolutely inviolable. An attempt was also made to violate his political activity and by extension the free functioning of the democratic system is at stake. Those who are hunting Mr. Androulakis (predator) sought not only to listen to his calls and messages, but also to turn Mr. Androulakis' device into a means of constant monitoring of him."
"Immediate action is required by all competent bodies to find those who attempted this brutal attempt to trap the current President of the country's third parliamentary party. Political parties and all institutional actors must unite their voices for the catharsis in this case," the same sources concluded.
See also: Thanasis Koukakis: Predator spyware is spying on the journalist!
Detailed information from Charilaou Trikoupi:
Following the revelation of the Pegasus surveillance scandals, the European Parliament has created a Special Service, through which MEPs could check their phones for possible infections by illegal surveillance software. We remind you that Pegasus is malicious software that belongs to the category of spyware. It is designed to invade devices without notifying the user, gather whatever information it wants and then disappear.
On June 28, 2022, Mr. Androulakis made use of this Parliament service for preventive reasons. From the first check carried out on the device of the President of PASOK – Movement for Change, the presence of a suspicious link connected to the illegal surveillance software Predator was revealed. Predator is a surveillance tool that offers its operator full and permanent access to the target’s device. Predator allows the operator to extract passwords, files, photos, web browsing history, contacts as well as identity data (such as information about the mobile device). Predator can take screen captures, record the user’s entries [on his mobile], as well as activate the device’s microphone and camera. This allows attackers to monitor any action that takes place through or near a device, such as conversations taking place in a room. Predator also allows its operator to record text messages sent or received (including those sent via “encrypted applications”) as well as plain and VoIP phone calls (including phone conversations via “encrypted” applications).
Following the relevant protocol , which was immediately activated, a copy of the device was created in order to conduct a more detailed check. Subsequently, following a proposal from the competent services of the European Parliament, a supplementary check was carried out on Mr. Androulakis' device. After completing these checks, the services of the Parliament drew up the relevant Report, which they delivered to Mr. Androulakis in the previous days.
According to what is described there, Mr. Androulakis received a text message on September 21, 2021, shortly before the start of the internal party procedures, on his device inviting him to click on a specific link, which according to a report by the Citizens Lab of the University of Toronto is used as bait to install Predator surveillance software on the target's mobile phone. The message precisely stated: "Let's look at the matter a little seriously, friend, we have something to win." and followed the link, which was a falsification of a website that exists and operates normally. Although the message appears to have been read an hour after was received , the fact that Mr. Androulakis never clicked on the link is what seems to have saved him from the worst. There was an attempt to trap Mr. Androulakis' phone, which was prevented thanks to Mr. Androulakis's foresight not to follow the link that would trap his phone. It is noted that in the more than 200 checks of MEPs' mobile phones that have been carried out by the European Parliament, this was the first case in which an attempt to infect a personal telephone device was detected. Technical consultants do not rule out listening with other systems that leave no traces.
See also: Is the Greek government spying on citizens through Predator spyware?
In addition to the complaint filed today with the Prosecutor of the Supreme Court, the Vice-President of the European Commission, Ms. Vera Jourova, the responsible Commissioner, Mr. Didier Reynders, the President of the Socialist Group, Ms. Iratxe Garcia Perez, the President of the European Parliament, Ms. Roberta Metsola, and members of the European Parliament's Committee of Inquiry into the use of the Pegasus software and corresponding spying and monitoring software have been informed of the matter by letters.
This is a serious case of attempted violation of the confidentiality of telephone communications in Greece. Not only was the privacy of Mr. Androulakis and the confidentiality of his communications, which according to the Constitution is absolutely inviolable, attempted to be violated. His political activity was also violated and by extension the free functioning of the democratic system is at stake. Those who are hunting Mr. Androulakis (predator) sought not only to listen to his calls and messages, but also to turn Mr. Androulakis' device into a means of constant monitoring of him.
Immediate action is required by all competent bodies to find those who attempted this brutal attempt to entrap the current President of the country's third parliamentary party. Political parties and all institutional actors must unite their voices for the catharsis in this case.
Source: ethnos.gr
