Journalist interested in #surveillance | Contributor: @WIRED | @FTM_eu | Covers 🇬🇷 for @RSF_inter | Researcher: @Deakin | 2026 Fellow @techpolicypress
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Joined April 2009
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🇺🇸 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. 👇
wired.com/story/ice-paragon-…
Apple has sent new notifications of mercenary spyware infections to almost 🌍100 countries. The notifications come shortly before the final rounds of negotiations over industry standards for commercial hacking tools being developed under the voluntary Pall Mall Process.
cyberscoop.com/apple-spyware…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
ALERT: did you just get a threat notification from Apple?
Seek expert help.
Apple just sent new notifications about mercenary spyware.
Here are steps to take right now. 1/
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
It seems the Apple notifications are out. If you want to analyze your phone, reach out to a trusted organisation. I'm happy to assist as part of ThreatNotify for forensic analysis of phones.
Yesterday, I received a security notification from Apple warning me that my iPhone had been targeted by a sophisticated mercenary spyware attack, involving technology of the kind developed by companies such as NSO Group, the Israeli firm behind the notorious Pegasus spyware.
Perhaps the most alarming aspect of Apple’s warning was its confirmation that such attacks target specific individuals “because of who you are or what you do.”
This is not the first time I have been targeted by spyware. I was previously targeted with Pegasus in both 2017 and 2021.
I do not yet know who is behind this latest attack, or whether it is connected to my investigative documentary, The Trap, which I directed and co-produced. The film, available on Al Jazeera 360, exposed the details of the September 2024 pager explosions in Lebanon.
What is certain, however, is that the targeting of journalists with sophisticated spyware poses a grave threat to press freedom, the confidentiality of journalistic sources, and the very foundations of independent investigative journalism.
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
My dataset shows ~86k records targeting Starlink connections with campaigns in: Yemen, Kenya, Malaysia and Mexico threatnotify.org/projects/dt…
רויטרס מדווחים כעת כי חברת סייבריגול ישראל טירגטה משתמשים של סטארלינק.
לפני חצי שנה חשף @omerbenj ב"הארץ" כי טכנולוגיה ישראלית - שכבר משווקת ללקוחות - מאפשרת לחשוף זהות משתמשים באינטרנט הלווייני של מאסק
haaretz.co.il/news/security/…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
UPDATE: Israeli company we caught delivering zero-click infections is #1 bidder on Starlink ads in 105 countries.
Data from @trendai_RSRCH suggests worldwide surveillance op targeting @Starlink users. 1/
By @razhael
reuters.com/business/media-t…
🚨NEW INVESTIGATION: zero-click mercenary spyware hacking via targeted ads.
A normal-looking ad loads. If you're a target, you're infected. No click needed.
To protect yourself, block ads now.
First time it's been confirmed in the wild. We call it #AdFection.
Candiru spyware infections at @AJEnglish. 45+ devices infected.
Same ad pipeline operated by Israeli company Discover-Tech reached NATO, European Parliament, dozens of gov networks & critical infrastructure incl US nuclear giant Westinghouse.
Confiant, which worked with us, found signs ads were displayed at US @DeptofWar, IAEA & ICC.
Investigation ongoing 1/
READ our report by @billmarczak @WolfieChristl, me Astrid Perry, Siena Anstis & Ron Deibert : citizenlab.ca/research/how-d…
Confiant's blog: blog.confiant.com/p/adint-we…
Commission’s guidelines undermine the 🇪🇺Dual-Use Regulation:
➡️Human rights considerations for the export of listed surveillance tech are not addressed, risking exports to abuse-prone countries.
➡️Transparency guidelines weaken member states’ reporting obligations, limiting public scrutiny of exports.
cdt.org/insights/civil-socie…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
US 🇺🇸 Senators @CoryBooker and @RonWyden respond to the @citizenlab's latest "AdFection" investigation
cyberscoop.com/targeted-ads-…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
👀 L'inchiesta su Dataflow - l'eccellenza italiana che sviluppa codici per penetrare smartphone e computer con stretti legami con l'intelligence israeliana - pubblicata su @IrpiMedia (@faffa42) è oggi oggetto di un'interpellanza parlamentare firmata dall'onorevole @NFratoianni (che ringrazio per l'attenzione)
irpimedia.irpi.eu/dataflow-c…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Together with @saskiabricmont and 33 other MEPs from 5 political groups, we urge @Europarl_EN, @EU_Commission, and @EUCouncil to investigate their exposure to zero-click spyware.
More in our letter:
1/2
🇫🇷MP & former minister Agnès Pannier-Runacher says she was targeted by commercial spyware 3 times—twice as a minister & once as an MP. She filed a complaint with France’s domestic intel. agency (DGSI) on 28/09. Pegasus has been ruled out so far, according to Politico.
politico.eu/article/la-deput…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Australia's nuclear agency targeted with ads linked to spyware that infect devices without a click abc.net.au/news/2026-10-19/n…
Despite evidence of widespread #spyware targeting within 🇪🇺EU institutions, the bloc has yet to take its own security problem seriously, let alone introduce EU-wide legislation specifically addressing spyware misuse.
My latest for @techpolicypress
👇
techpolicy.press/despite-spy…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
🚨NEW INVESTIGATION: University of Belgrade Rector who resisted crackdown on students was hacked with zero-click Pegasus.
Authorities raided his offices in March.
Serbia's snap elections are 6 days away.
There are more targets 1/
With @ShareConference citizenlab.ca/research/pegas…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Just how big was the Israeli “zero-click” malware attack?
@citizenlab researcher @billmarczak tells me, “The ads were at an enormous scale…hundreds of millions of impressions, meaning hundreds of millions of these ads were shown on devices over a period of a few months…even devices that don't get hacked, that aren't the quote, unquote real targets, there is still quite a bit of invasive data collection from those devices. So we're talking on the order of millions and millions of devices.”
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Bad news.
US District Court denied WhatsApp's motion to hold NSO in contempt for continuing to hack WhatsApp users after a court order barred it from doing so.
The evidence wasn't "clear and convincing" enough. 1/
🇨🇾Company records show that Tal Dilian & Avraham Shahak Avni both held roles in the same Cyprus-registered company, Poltrex, even though Dilian said on Monday that he was being linked with Avni arbitrarily. Both men became widely known in Cyprus through the ‘black van’ surveillance case.
✍️ @MakridesFanis
en.philenews.com/local/black…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
🚨NEW INVESTIGATION: zero-click mercenary spyware hacking via targeted ads.
A normal-looking ad loads. If you're a target, you're infected. No click needed.
To protect yourself, block ads now.
First time it's been confirmed in the wild. We call it #AdFection.
Candiru spyware infections at @AJEnglish. 45+ devices infected.
Same ad pipeline operated by Israeli company Discover-Tech reached NATO, European Parliament, dozens of gov networks & critical infrastructure incl US nuclear giant Westinghouse.
Confiant, which worked with us, found signs ads were displayed at US @DeptofWar, IAEA & ICC.
Investigation ongoing 1/
READ our report by @billmarczak @WolfieChristl, me Astrid Perry, Siena Anstis & Ron Deibert : citizenlab.ca/research/how-d…
Confiant's blog: blog.confiant.com/p/adint-we…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Last year, @amnesty revealed technical evidence of spyware firms like Intellexa developing tools for zero-click infection through online ads.
We warned of a dangerous new threat to civil society. Now @citizenlab has caught devices at Al Jazeera being hacked via malicious ads. 🧵
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
NEW @citizenlab report We uncovered an Israeli firm using online ads to run vast spy operation
This is the first-ever public confirmation of zero-click mercenary spyware delivered via targeted ads.
45 devices at @AJEnglish confirmed infected
citizenlab.ca/research/how-d…
Vas Panagiotopoulos retweeted
Great to see my and @ashl3y_shen’s Silent Lynx (TAG-193/UAT-6275) research featured by @razhael at @Reuters!
Cyber espionage isn’t just for the big players. Our findings shed light on Kazakhstan-linked activity targeting Russia and the wider CIS.
reuters.com/legal/litigation…
