Greek court sentences Predator spyware gang – POLITICO

ATHENS — A Greek court on Thursday sentenced four people, including two Israelis, to prison over a major wiretapping scandal involving the illegal use of spyware to target politicians, business leaders and journalists.

The Greek spying affair, known as “Predatorgate,” erupted in 2022 when Nikos Androulakis, leader of the main opposition PASOK party and then a member of the European Parliament, discovered that illegal spyware known as Predator had been installed on his phone.

The scandal is one of Europe’s most significant political crises involving the use of commercial hacking software. Spain, Hungary and Poland have faced similar controversies, with spyware such as Pegasus and Candiru found on the phones of politicians and activists. The European Parliament launched a formal inquiry into the use of such tools in 2022.