The Greek wiretapping scandal has taken on an international dimension thanks to an article in The New Yorker by Ronan Farrow, the investigative journalist, producer and son of Mia Farrow and Woody Allen.
The piece sheds light on aspects of spyware, highlighting the risk its use poses to democracy around the world and to citizens’ fundamental rights. In the article, Farrow refers to the deployment of Predator software which the Greek eavesdropping scandal brought to light.
The scandal broke when Nikos Androulakis’ mobile phone proved to be ‘contaminated’ when he submitted it to the European Parliament for examination.
The piece also points out that the Greek prosecutor refused in August to hold government officials responsible for the extensive surveillance operation, noting that the Greek Supreme Court ultimately ruled the surveillance to be justified as “ancillary” to legitimate state operations.
The same article states that the culpability of the Greek government “remains under discussion,” since the Greek Prime Minister continues to claim total ignorance of the surveillance while personally supervising the country’s secret services.
