[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"$f1lf76ILIvscYdp10bRcz3fCcBM7PFOV2K7cHROLnaP4":3},{"article":4,"iocs":56,"watch_terms":69,"solutions":70,"lesson":73},{"id":5,"title":6,"slug":7,"summary":8,"ai_summary":9,"brief":10,"url":11,"image_url":12,"published_at":13,"ingested_at":14,"relevance_score":15,"entities":16,"category_id":30,"category":31,"article_tags":35},"3037cd85-ad5f-4ee4-8d29-dc580effa60a","Predator, Pegasus and Graphite: Governments Accused of Spyware Abuse Face Little Accountability","predator-pegasus-and-graphite-governments-accused-of-spyware-abuse-face-little-a-b15130","Europe’s spyware victims face years of legal battles and few answers as governments shield surveillance behind national security. Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis waited almost five years for a court to confirm what happened to him. His phone was infected with the infaous spyware Predator that gave whoever was watching access to his contacts, documents and […]","Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis confirmed after five years that his phone was infected with Predator spyware, leading to the first European conviction of four Intellexa executives in February 2026, though their sentences are suspended pending appeal. The scandal extends beyond Pegasus and Paragon spyware, with victims in Spain and Hungary unable to obtain even basic surveillance information due to national security claims. Despite European Parliament recommendations in June 2023 for victim support funds and independent laboratories, member states have implemented nothing, and critics argue governments face no consequences for spyware abuse.","European spyware victims struggle for accountability as governments shield surveillance behind national security claims.","https:\u002F\u002Fsecurityaffairs.com\u002F202922\u002Fmalware\u002Fpredator-pegasus-and-graphite-governments-accused-of-spyware-abuse-face-little-accountability.html","https:\u002F\u002Fsecurityaffairs.com\u002Fwp-content\u002Fuploads\u002F2018\u002F09\u002FPegasus-spyware.jpg","2026-11-12T14:53:25+00:00","2026-11-12T16:00:26.14625+00:00",8,[17,20,22,24,27],{"name":18,"type":19},"Intellexa","vendor",{"name":21,"type":19},"NSO Group",{"name":23,"type":19},"Paragon Solutions",{"name":25,"type":26},"Tal Dilian","threat_actor",{"name":28,"type":29},"Citizen Lab","technology","89f78b1c-3503-45a1-9fc7-e23d2ce1c6d5",{"id":30,"icon":32,"name":33,"slug":34},null,"Malware","malware",[36,41,46,51],{"category":37},{"id":38,"icon":32,"name":39,"slug":40},"614132b8-5837-4952-b8b5-c6c9a32a1d85","Privacy","privacy",{"category":42},{"id":43,"icon":32,"name":44,"slug":45},"6cbdd207-aaa1-4176-9534-e156b125e917","Nation-state","nation-state",{"category":47},{"id":48,"icon":32,"name":49,"slug":50},"c5c77cdb-f7d7-4990-9436-c81dcbff1163","Policy","policy",{"category":52},{"id":53,"icon":32,"name":54,"slug":55},"e7b231c8-5f79-4465-8d38-1ef13aea5a14","Threat Intelligence","threat-intelligence",[57,60,63,66],{"type":34,"value":58,"context":59},"Predator","Spyware used to target Greek journalist; infects phones to access contacts, documents, messages, and hardware like camera and microphone",{"type":34,"value":61,"context":62},"Pegasus","Spyware developed by NSO Group; used against dozens of European activists, politicians and journalists; scandal revealed in 2021",{"type":34,"value":64,"context":65},"Graphite","Spyware mentioned in title; no additional details provided in article",{"type":34,"value":67,"context":68},"Paragon","Israeli spyware company; Citizen Lab found Italian phone numbers targeted by Paragon in 2025; later acquired by US investment fund",[18,21,23],{"controls":71,"vendors":72},[],[],{"slug":74,"title":75,"body":76,"framework_refs":77,"framework_notes":83},"government-spyware-abuse-exposes-critical-gaps-in-accountability-and-victim-rights","Government Spyware Abuse Exposes Critical Gaps in Accountability and Victim Rights","The confirmed infection of Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis with Predator spyware — and the broader pattern of Pegasus and Paragon abuse across EU member states — reveals a systemic failure of regulatory accountability rather than a purely technical security lapse. Governments invoking national security claims to deny victims even basic surveillance disclosures leaves individuals with no meaningful recourse, undermining the rule of law. Despite the European Parliament issuing concrete recommendations in 2023 — including victim support funds and independent forensic laboratories — member states have taken no action, demonstrating that policy recommendations without enforcement mechanisms are largely symbolic. This matters because the absence of consequences emboldens further abuse and erodes public trust in both democratic institutions and the broader digital rights framework.",[78,79,80,81,82],"GDPR Article 15","GDPR Article 79","NIS2 Article 21(2)(b)","NIST SP 800-53 IR-6: Incident Reporting","MITRE ATT&CK T1430: Location Tracking",{"GDPR Article 15":84,"GDPR Article 79":85,"NIS2 Article 21(2)(b)":86,"MITRE ATT&CK T1430: Location Tracking":87,"NIST SP 800-53 IR-6: Incident Reporting":88},"Article 15 grants individuals the right of access to data processed about them, which member states are denying to spyware victims by invoking national security claims without judicial oversight.","Article 79 guarantees effective judicial remedy against controllers, yet victims in Spain and Hungary have been unable to obtain even basic surveillance information, rendering this right meaningless in practice.","NIS2 requires incident handling procedures including detection and reporting, but no equivalent obligation exists to notify victims of state-sponsored spyware incidents, leaving them uninformed for years.","Commercial spyware like Predator and Pegasus exploits mobile device capabilities including location tracking and data exfiltration, illustrating how mature adversarial techniques are being deployed against civil society targets with no accountability framework in place.","IR-6 requires timely reporting of security incidents to affected parties and authorities, a standard that government spyware programs systematically violated by concealing surveillance operations from victims."]