Greek Government Installs Spyware on Dual-Citizen’s Smartphone

We all need to be wary when operating online. However, some of us need to be more careful than others. High-profile people are common targets for cyberattacks, as we see with a former executive on Meta’s security policy team. The attacker, however, has a surprising identity: the Greek government.

Artemis Seaford, a former trust and safety manager for Meta’s security policy team, was the target of a long-form cyberattack starting in September of 2021. As reported by Gizmodo, the Greek national intelligence service infected her phone with “Predator” malware and secretly spied on her through it. She is a dual-citizen of Greece and the United States.

Seaford didn’t think anything was amiss until she noticed her name in a leaked document of spyware targets in Greek media back in November of last year. After taking her phone to experts, they confirmed it was infected with Predator malware.

Seaford isn’t the first Greek citizen to be targeted by the government: Plenty of others have accused Greece of spying, dubbing the practice “Greece’s Watergate.” Seaford, however, is the first US citizen caught up in the mess.

The Greek government denies all accusations.

Photo by Paul Hanaoka on Unsplash