Vas Panagiotopoulos
@vaspanagiotopoulos.com
Journalist interested in #surveillance & #pressfreedom | Contributor: @wired.com | @ftm.eu | Covers 🇬🇷 for @rsf.org | Researcher: @deakinuniversity.bsky.social
☏ Signal: vas.99
http://vaspanagiotopoulos.com
☏ Signal: vas.99
http://vaspanagiotopoulos.com
Pinned
ICE Signs $2 Million Contract With Spyware Maker Paragon Solutions
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s one-year contract with Paragon’s US subsidiary comes amid the Biden administration’s years-long crackdown on commercial spyware vendors.
www.wired.com
🇺🇸 Immigration and Customs Enforcement has signed a $2 million contract with 🇮🇱Israeli commercial #spyware vendor Paragon Solutions.
It is unknown whether the contract is for the deployment of Paragon’s flagship product Graphite.
My latest for WIRED. 👇
www.wired.com/story/ice-pa...
It is unknown whether the contract is for the deployment of Paragon’s flagship product Graphite.
My latest for WIRED. 👇
www.wired.com/story/ice-pa...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
Former Trump official appointed exec chairman of spyware company NSO Group. David Friedman previously served as Trump's ambassador to Israel + before that was a bankruptcy lawyer for the president. NSO was recently acquired by investors led by a Hollywood producer therecord.media/former-trump...
Former Trump official named NSO Group executive chairman
NSO Group announced Friedman’s appointment on Sunday, saying that NSO’s three founders no longer have any stake in the firm.
therecord.media
November 10, 2025 at 6:14 PM
Former Trump official appointed exec chairman of spyware company NSO Group. David Friedman previously served as Trump's ambassador to Israel + before that was a bankruptcy lawyer for the president. NSO was recently acquired by investors led by a Hollywood producer therecord.media/former-trump...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
We asked David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel, who has been named exec chairman of the NSO Group holding company, whether he would try to get sanctions on NSO lifted. He said: “I hope that will be accomplished, but we haven’t made that request yet”. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Tech giants vow to defend users in US as spyware companies make inroads with Trump administration
Apple and WhatsApp say they’ll keep warning users if their phones are targeted by governments using hacking software against them
www.theguardian.com
November 10, 2025 at 4:22 PM
We asked David Friedman, the former US ambassador to Israel, who has been named exec chairman of the NSO Group holding company, whether he would try to get sanctions on NSO lifted. He said: “I hope that will be accomplished, but we haven’t made that request yet”. www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
UPDATE: NSO just hired former Trump ambassador to Israel.
They're trying to push Pegasus spyware to 🇺🇸America.
Your rights and freedoms are in danger.
NSO Group is no friend to the US & has spent years undermining our security & values 1/
They're trying to push Pegasus spyware to 🇺🇸America.
Your rights and freedoms are in danger.
NSO Group is no friend to the US & has spent years undermining our security & values 1/
November 9, 2025 at 10:05 PM
UPDATE: NSO just hired former Trump ambassador to Israel.
They're trying to push Pegasus spyware to 🇺🇸America.
Your rights and freedoms are in danger.
NSO Group is no friend to the US & has spent years undermining our security & values 1/
They're trying to push Pegasus spyware to 🇺🇸America.
Your rights and freedoms are in danger.
NSO Group is no friend to the US & has spent years undermining our security & values 1/
⚠️ David Friedman, Trump's former ambassador to Israel and one of the key architects of the Abraham Accords, has been appointed head of #spyware vendor NSO Group.
www.themarker.com/technation/2...
www.themarker.com/technation/2...
שגריר ארה"ב לשעבר דיוויד פרידמן מונה ליו"ר NSO, שעוברת לבעלות אמריקאית
המהלך מגיע לאחר חודשים של מאמצים לבטל את הסנקציות מארה"ב על החברה, ואחרי שפאראגון, המתחרה הגדולה, עברה גם היא לבעלות אמריקאית ■ לא ברור מי הבעלים החדשים, איך ניירת חושפת כי עו"ד שייצג בעבר את שר המשפט...
www.themarker.com
November 9, 2025 at 3:47 PM
⚠️ David Friedman, Trump's former ambassador to Israel and one of the key architects of the Abraham Accords, has been appointed head of #spyware vendor NSO Group.
www.themarker.com/technation/2...
www.themarker.com/technation/2...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
YIKES: NSO floats Pegasus spyware used in hypothetical "time of domestic crisis" in 🇺🇸America.
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
November 7, 2025 at 8:36 PM
YIKES: NSO floats Pegasus spyware used in hypothetical "time of domestic crisis" in 🇺🇸America.
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
I believe they won't stop lobbying until they get Pegasus into USA.
To hack Americans. 1/
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
Security researchers on Friday revealed the discovery of “commercial grade” spyware used in a 9-month-long hacking campaign aimed at Samsung Galaxy phones likely concentrated in the Middle East.
therecord.media/landfall-spy...
therecord.media/landfall-spy...
Newly identified Android spyware appears to be from a commercial vendor
Researchers spotted a 9-month-long campaign involving previously undiscovered spyware they call LANDFALL, which leveraged a zero-day bug in Samsung Galaxy phones.
therecord.media
November 7, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Security researchers on Friday revealed the discovery of “commercial grade” spyware used in a 9-month-long hacking campaign aimed at Samsung Galaxy phones likely concentrated in the Middle East.
therecord.media/landfall-spy...
therecord.media/landfall-spy...
The revelation that Francesco Nicodemo was targeted with Paragon #spyware widens the scope — once again — of the ongoing spyware scandal in 🇮🇹Italy, writes @lorenzofb.bsky.social.
techcrunch.com/2025/11/06/i...
techcrunch.com/2025/11/06/i...
Italian political consultant says he was targeted with Paragon spyware | TechCrunch
WhatsApp notified the consultant, who works for left-wing politicians, that his phone was targeted with spyware made by Paragon.
techcrunch.com
November 6, 2025 at 8:01 PM
The revelation that Francesco Nicodemo was targeted with Paragon #spyware widens the scope — once again — of the ongoing spyware scandal in 🇮🇹Italy, writes @lorenzofb.bsky.social.
techcrunch.com/2025/11/06/i...
techcrunch.com/2025/11/06/i...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
This is a very good point. And the answer lies in the licenses that spyware makers give their customers. In this case, "licenses" means the number of concurrent targets customers could use.
For example, these were the no. of targets Hacking Team gave its customers (note Morocco):
For example, these were the no. of targets Hacking Team gave its customers (note Morocco):
November 6, 2025 at 5:56 PM
This is a very good point. And the answer lies in the licenses that spyware makers give their customers. In this case, "licenses" means the number of concurrent targets customers could use.
For example, these were the no. of targets Hacking Team gave its customers (note Morocco):
For example, these were the no. of targets Hacking Team gave its customers (note Morocco):
Another person spied on in Italy’s Paragon scandal: Francesco Nicodemo, former head of communications for the 🇮🇹Democratic Party under Matteo Renzi.
www.fanpage.it/politica/un-...
www.fanpage.it/politica/un-...
www.fanpage.it
November 6, 2025 at 1:39 PM
Another person spied on in Italy’s Paragon scandal: Francesco Nicodemo, former head of communications for the 🇮🇹Democratic Party under Matteo Renzi.
www.fanpage.it/politica/un-...
www.fanpage.it/politica/un-...
⚠️ @hennavirkkunen.bsky.social promises to submit a list of #spyware companies that received 🇪🇺EU funding following our @ftm.eu investigation.
💡All applications, she said, are reviewed by a “multidisciplinary team of ethical experts.”
🎥 WATCH: youtu.be/SjSndVxMNXU?...
Q: @danielfreund.bsky.social
💡All applications, she said, are reviewed by a “multidisciplinary team of ethical experts.”
🎥 WATCH: youtu.be/SjSndVxMNXU?...
Q: @danielfreund.bsky.social
November 6, 2025 at 12:17 PM
⚠️ @hennavirkkunen.bsky.social promises to submit a list of #spyware companies that received 🇪🇺EU funding following our @ftm.eu investigation.
💡All applications, she said, are reviewed by a “multidisciplinary team of ethical experts.”
🎥 WATCH: youtu.be/SjSndVxMNXU?...
Q: @danielfreund.bsky.social
💡All applications, she said, are reviewed by a “multidisciplinary team of ethical experts.”
🎥 WATCH: youtu.be/SjSndVxMNXU?...
Q: @danielfreund.bsky.social
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
European news outlets find that data brokers are peddling locations of hundreds in European Commission and Parliament, including senior officials.
therecord.media/data-brokers...
therecord.media/data-brokers...
Data brokers selling location info that can be used to track EU officials, report finds
A spokesperson for the European Commission told the journalists that officials are “concerned with the trade of geolocation data from citizens and Commission officials.“
therecord.media
November 4, 2025 at 7:38 PM
European news outlets find that data brokers are peddling locations of hundreds in European Commission and Parliament, including senior officials.
therecord.media/data-brokers...
therecord.media/data-brokers...
A court document filed in the case, as well as exclusive reporting by @lorenzofb.bsky.social and interviews with Williams’ former colleagues, explain how Williams was able to steal the highly valuable and sensitive exploits from Trenchant. 👀
techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/h...
techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/h...
How an ex-L3 Harris Trenchant boss stole and sold cyber exploits to Russia | TechCrunch
Peter Williams sold eight exploits to a Russian zero-day broker by smuggling them from his employer’s highly secured air-gapped network. A court document, plus exclusive reporting by TechCrunch and in...
techcrunch.com
November 3, 2025 at 9:59 PM
A court document filed in the case, as well as exclusive reporting by @lorenzofb.bsky.social and interviews with Williams’ former colleagues, explain how Williams was able to steal the highly valuable and sensitive exploits from Trenchant. 👀
techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/h...
techcrunch.com/2025/11/03/h...
“Greek investigative outlet Tvxs.gr has uncovered evidence that Intellexa, the company behind the Predator spyware system, held operational training sessions inside the offices of Krikel, a firm involved in sensitive 🇬🇷Greek Police procurements.”
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
Intellexa Conducted Covert Training Sessions Inside Offices of Greek Police Contractor Krikel - Dnews
The Athens trial targets four business figures accused of violating communications privacy laws. A new revelation has added significant weight to concerns over the intersection of private spyware deve...
www.dnews.gr
November 3, 2025 at 1:02 PM
“Greek investigative outlet Tvxs.gr has uncovered evidence that Intellexa, the company behind the Predator spyware system, held operational training sessions inside the offices of Krikel, a firm involved in sensitive 🇬🇷Greek Police procurements.”
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
www.dnews.gr/eidhseis/new...
⚠️ In a new document, part of the so-called discharge process, the European Commission admits EU funds flowed to #spyware firms after our @ftm.eu probe, and a letter by 39 MEPs.
🚫 However it fails to list all 🇪🇺 programmes from which surveillance companies have benefited.
www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
🚫 However it fails to list all 🇪🇺 programmes from which surveillance companies have benefited.
www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
Newsletter | Brussels admits EU funds flowed to spyware firms after FTM probe
Follow the Money - Platform for investigative journalism
www.ftm.eu
November 3, 2025 at 10:32 AM
⚠️ In a new document, part of the so-called discharge process, the European Commission admits EU funds flowed to #spyware firms after our @ftm.eu probe, and a letter by 39 MEPs.
🚫 However it fails to list all 🇪🇺 programmes from which surveillance companies have benefited.
www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
🚫 However it fails to list all 🇪🇺 programmes from which surveillance companies have benefited.
www.ftm.eu/newsletters/...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
How Google won friends and influenced people - while slowly gobbling up a quarter of all ad revenue on the internet.
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
How Google fooled Brussels: the tech giant’s playbook exposed
Regulators in the U.S. and the EU are closing on tech giant Google in an attempt to break up its dominance over the internet. An investigation by Follow the Money reveals how Google has persuaded lawm...
www.ftm.eu
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 AM
How Google won friends and influenced people - while slowly gobbling up a quarter of all ad revenue on the internet.
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Here's my look at two decades of Google’s ruthless tactics to secure its dominance.
www.ftm.eu/articles/goo...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
The murder of Greek journalist Giorgos #Karaivaz has never been resolved. Now one of the suspects who was tried and acquitted for the murder, has himself been murdered. Will the cover up continue or will the authorities finally investigate? www.ekathimerini.com/news/1285558...
Man previously acquitted for journalist’s murder found dead in Arachova hotel | eKathimerini.com
A man who had previously been accused – and later acquitted – of involvement in the 2021 murder of investigative journalist Giorgos Karaivaz was found dead on Saturday night in a hotel in the wider Ar...
www.ekathimerini.com
November 2, 2025 at 2:21 PM
The murder of Greek journalist Giorgos #Karaivaz has never been resolved. Now one of the suspects who was tried and acquitted for the murder, has himself been murdered. Will the cover up continue or will the authorities finally investigate? www.ekathimerini.com/news/1285558...
⚠️Gerhard Schmidt, a partner at 🇺🇸law firm Weil Gotshal's 🇩🇪offices, personally invested €5m in Novalpina, the private equity fund that bought NSO Group, according to 2 people with knowledge of the matter & a New York court filing.
✍️ @kayewiggins.ft.com & Mehul Srivastava.
www.ft.com/content/a5d2...
✍️ @kayewiggins.ft.com & Mehul Srivastava.
www.ft.com/content/a5d2...
October 31, 2025 at 6:51 AM
⚠️Gerhard Schmidt, a partner at 🇺🇸law firm Weil Gotshal's 🇩🇪offices, personally invested €5m in Novalpina, the private equity fund that bought NSO Group, according to 2 people with knowledge of the matter & a New York court filing.
✍️ @kayewiggins.ft.com & Mehul Srivastava.
www.ft.com/content/a5d2...
✍️ @kayewiggins.ft.com & Mehul Srivastava.
www.ft.com/content/a5d2...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
GrapheneOS is great and I recommend it all the time for Android users who are concerned about spying by governments and law enforcement.
"We’ve reached out to Google to inquire about why a custom ROM created by volunteers [@grapheneos.org] is more resistant to industrial phone hacking than the official Pixel OS. We’ll update this article if Google has anything to say." arstechnica.com/gadgets/2025...
Leaker reveals which Pixels are vulnerable to Cellebrite phone hacking
Cellebrite can apparently extract data from most Pixel phones, unless they’re running GrapheneOS.
arstechnica.com
October 31, 2025 at 12:33 AM
GrapheneOS is great and I recommend it all the time for Android users who are concerned about spying by governments and law enforcement.
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
A very good Risky.biz podcast this week on Peter Williams, the former Trenchant employee accused of stealing trade secrets (👀). @patrick.risky.biz says Williams is ex-ASD (Australian NSA), which declined to comment to us when we reached out as it was a "matter for law enforcement."
risky.biz/RB812/
risky.biz/RB812/
Risky Business #812 -- Alleged Trenchant exploit mole is ex-ASD - Risky Business Media
In this week’s show Patrick Gray and Adam Boileau discuss the week’s cybersecurity news, including:* L3Harris Trenchant boss accused of se [Read More]
risky.biz
October 29, 2025 at 2:36 PM
A very good Risky.biz podcast this week on Peter Williams, the former Trenchant employee accused of stealing trade secrets (👀). @patrick.risky.biz says Williams is ex-ASD (Australian NSA), which declined to comment to us when we reached out as it was a "matter for law enforcement."
risky.biz/RB812/
risky.biz/RB812/
"As part of the plea agreement, Williams faces between 87 and 108 months in prison and fines of up to $300,000. He must also pay restitution of $1.3 million."
✍️ @kimzetter.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/peter-...
✍️ @kimzetter.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/peter-...
Ex-L3Harris Cyber Boss Pleads Guilty to Selling Trade Secrets to Russian Firm
Peter Williams, a former executive of Trenchant, L3Harris’ cyber division, has pleaded guilty to two counts of stealing trade secrets and selling them to an unnamed Russian software broker.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 9:42 PM
"As part of the plea agreement, Williams faces between 87 and 108 months in prison and fines of up to $300,000. He must also pay restitution of $1.3 million."
✍️ @kimzetter.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/peter-...
✍️ @kimzetter.bsky.social
www.wired.com/story/peter-...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
NEW: For the second time in less than two weeks, a major cloud outage has impacted the internet, revealing once again the dangers of relying on a few companies to provide the internet's infrastructure. @lhn.bsky.social reports www.wired.com/story/the-mi...
The Microsoft Azure Outage Shows the Harsh Reality of Cloud Failures
The second major cloud outage in less than two weeks, Azure's downtime highlights the “brittleness” of a digital ecosystem that depends on a few companies never making mistakes.
www.wired.com
October 29, 2025 at 8:22 PM
NEW: For the second time in less than two weeks, a major cloud outage has impacted the internet, revealing once again the dangers of relying on a few companies to provide the internet's infrastructure. @lhn.bsky.social reports www.wired.com/story/the-mi...
Former L3Harris general manager Peter Williams - an 🇦🇺Australian citizen & former Australian Signals Directorate employee - has pleaded guilty to selling surveillance technology to a Russian broker that buys “cyber tools,” the 🇺🇸 DOJ confirmed.
✍️ @lorenzofb.bsky.social
techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/f...
✍️ @lorenzofb.bsky.social
techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/f...
Former L3Harris Trenchant boss pleads guilty to selling zero-day exploits to Russian broker | TechCrunch
Prosecutors confirmed Peter Williams, the former Trenchant boss, sold eight exploits to a Russian buyer. TechCrunch exclusively reported that the Trenchant division was investigating a leak of its hac...
techcrunch.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:20 PM
Former L3Harris general manager Peter Williams - an 🇦🇺Australian citizen & former Australian Signals Directorate employee - has pleaded guilty to selling surveillance technology to a Russian broker that buys “cyber tools,” the 🇺🇸 DOJ confirmed.
✍️ @lorenzofb.bsky.social
techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/f...
✍️ @lorenzofb.bsky.social
techcrunch.com/2025/10/29/f...
🇮🇹Memento Labs chief exec Paolo Lezzi confirmed to @lorenzofb.bsky.social that the #spyware caught by Kaspersky does indeed belong to Memento. He blamed one of the company’s govt customers for exposing Dante, saying the customer used an outdated version of the spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/c...
techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/c...
Exclusive: CEO of spyware maker Memento Labs confirms one of its government customers was caught using its malware
Security researchers found a government hacking campaign that relies on Windows spyware developed by surveillance tech maker Memento Labs. When reached by TechCrunch, the spyware maker's chief executi...
techcrunch.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:27 AM
🇮🇹Memento Labs chief exec Paolo Lezzi confirmed to @lorenzofb.bsky.social that the #spyware caught by Kaspersky does indeed belong to Memento. He blamed one of the company’s govt customers for exposing Dante, saying the customer used an outdated version of the spyware.
techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/c...
techcrunch.com/2025/10/28/c...
Kaspersky researchers said 🇮🇹Memento Labs - the successor company of Hacking Team - appears to be behind both the Operation ForumTroll malware and #spyware, known as Dante.
✍️ @timstarks.bsky.social
cyberscoop.com/hacking-team...
✍️ @timstarks.bsky.social
cyberscoop.com/hacking-team...
Hacking Team successor linked to malware campaign, new 'Dante' commercial spyware
Kaspersky researchers said Monday that they’ve unearthed a malware campaign they’re linking to the successor company of the infamous Italy-based surveillance tech firm Hacking Team, and at the same ti...
cyberscoop.com
October 28, 2025 at 9:27 PM
Kaspersky researchers said 🇮🇹Memento Labs - the successor company of Hacking Team - appears to be behind both the Operation ForumTroll malware and #spyware, known as Dante.
✍️ @timstarks.bsky.social
cyberscoop.com/hacking-team...
✍️ @timstarks.bsky.social
cyberscoop.com/hacking-team...
Reposted by Vas Panagiotopoulos
NEW: The number of phones being searched at the US border just hit another high
- 16,000 devices were searched in the last three months—a record high for a quarter
- 55,000 in the fiscal year 2025 (Oct-Sept)—a yearly record high
Story with @dell.bsky.social here:
www.wired.com/story/cbp-se...
- 16,000 devices were searched in the last three months—a record high for a quarter
- 55,000 in the fiscal year 2025 (Oct-Sept)—a yearly record high
Story with @dell.bsky.social here:
www.wired.com/story/cbp-se...
October 28, 2025 at 3:45 PM
NEW: The number of phones being searched at the US border just hit another high
- 16,000 devices were searched in the last three months—a record high for a quarter
- 55,000 in the fiscal year 2025 (Oct-Sept)—a yearly record high
Story with @dell.bsky.social here:
www.wired.com/story/cbp-se...
- 16,000 devices were searched in the last three months—a record high for a quarter
- 55,000 in the fiscal year 2025 (Oct-Sept)—a yearly record high
Story with @dell.bsky.social here:
www.wired.com/story/cbp-se...