Ottawa privacy advocates and Canadian officials are watching closely as a major spyware scandal continues to unfold in Europe — one that experts say carries serious warnings for democratic governments everywhere, including Canada.
The founder of Intellexa, the firm behind the notorious Predator spyware, has made his most direct public statement yet suggesting that Greece's government under Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis authorized the hacking of dozens of phones. Targets reportedly included senior Greek government ministers, opposition politicians, military officials, and journalists.
What Is Predator Spyware?
Predator is a commercial surveillance tool sold by Intellexa — a company that, like the more well-known NSO Group behind Pegasus, marketed powerful hacking software to governments around the world. Once installed on a target's phone, Predator can silently extract messages, emails, photos, and even activate the microphone and camera without the user's knowledge.
The spyware founder's comments represent the most significant insider confirmation yet that the software was deployed domestically — against the very government officials and press it was supposedly meant to protect against foreign threats.
Why This Matters in Ottawa and Canada
Canada is not immune to these conversations. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE), headquartered in Ottawa, is Canada's signals intelligence agency and one of the partners in the Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Civil liberties organizations like the Canadian Civil Liberties Association have long pushed for stronger oversight of how surveillance tools are authorized and deployed in this country.
The Greek case is a stark reminder of what can go wrong when commercial spyware falls into the hands of elected governments with limited accountability. If a Western European democracy could allegedly use Predator against its own ministers and journalists, the question of safeguards everywhere becomes urgent.
Ottawa-based digital rights researchers have pointed to Canada's relatively recent updates to the National Security Act as a partial safeguard — but critics argue oversight of signals intelligence and surveillance warrant authorities still lacks teeth.
The Bigger Picture for Press Freedom
Journalists were among those allegedly targeted in Greece — a detail that should resonate in any country that values a free press. Ottawa is home to numerous national media bureaus, federal press gallery journalists, and parliamentary press corps members who cover Canada's government daily. The idea that surveillance tools could be turned against reporters covering those in power is not a hypothetical in 2026 — it's a documented reality in multiple countries.
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Reporters Without Borders have both cited spyware as one of the greatest emerging threats to press freedom globally.
What Happens Next
The Intellexa founder's admission — even if made indirectly — could have significant legal consequences and may pressure Greek authorities to open a more transparent investigation. The European Parliament has already conducted hearings on the Predator scandal, and the case may yet reach the European Court of Human Rights.
For Ottawa policymakers and Canadians who care about digital rights, this is a story worth following. The global spyware industry is a multi-billion-dollar market, and Canada has not been untouched — researchers at Citizen Lab, based in Toronto, have led much of the world's investigation into Pegasus and Predator deployments.
The Greek scandal is a warning shot. And in Ottawa's halls of power, it would be wise to take note.
Source: TechCrunch. Original reporting at https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/25/convicted-spyware-chief-hints-that-greeces-government-was-behind-dozens-of-phone-hacks/
