By Elias Hazou
POLITICAL parties on Monday kept alive the issue of surveillance tech acquired by the Cyprus Intelligence Service (KYP), demanding answers from the government.
The parties zeroed in on the remarks of Andreas Pentaras, until-recently chief of KYP, who over the weekend claimed the purchase of the software – used to infect smart phones and other devices with an internet connection – had been approved by the Cabinet.
Pentaras quit days after revelations that KYP had apparently purchased phone surveillance tech from a manufacturer with a poor reputation among privacy advocates.
But over the weekend, Greens MP George Perdikis claimed on television that, after the disclosure, he personally spoke on the phone with President Nicos Anastasiades, who allegedly told Perdikis that he had not been briefed on the purchase.
The Greens have asked the president to clarify the matter during Tuesday’s session of the National Council.
Likewise main opposition AKEL, as well as DIKO demanded a briefing. The Citizens Alliance has tabled the issue for discussion at the House ethics committee.
What seems to have rattled the parties more is Pentaras’ comment that he personally interceded to prevent the technology from being abused, particularly for political-party purposes.
His remarks could be read in two ways: that either he put a stop to the eavesdropping on politicians, or that certain parties had tried to use their influence with KYP to spy on political adversaries.
Pentaras was responding to news reports alleging, or implying, that the tech was being used to spy on politicians.
Some news outlets – without citing any evidence – reported that ordinary citizens were being listened on.
The speed of Pentaras’ resignation came as something of a surprise, given that it is a known fact phone tapping has been going on here for decades.
It is therefore plausible he resigned in a bid to put a damper on the issue and also to protect Anastasiades. The KYP chief is appointed directly by the president.
Last week, local media published a copy of a December 2014 invoice made out to KYP for the purchase of surveillance tech.
The published invoice showed that KYP had paid €35,000 for items listed as “Android Platform,” “No.5 Agents Software License,” “Physical Infection Vectors,” and “Remote Mobile Infections.”
The issuer of the invoice is “HT Srl,” short in Italian for “HT, Società a responsabilità limitata,” or HT Ltd.
It is the designation used by Hacking Team, an Italian company that sells intrusion and surveillance tools to governments and law enforcement agencies.
The KYP invoice forms part of the contents of a 400GB torrent file leaked by hackers after they attacked Hacking Team last week. The torrent file features company invoices, internal documents, source code and email communications to the public at large.
Several countries other than Cyprus are listed as customers.
The contents of the torrent file have since been uploaded onto the Wikileaks website and are fully keyword-searchable.
After the reveal, Pentaras had issued a statement noting that the technology was being used solely for national security purposes.
He said the recent actions of KYP in tackling international terrorism was self-evident. He was referring to the recent imprisonment of a Lebanese-Canadian man, with links to Hezbollah, who was found in possession of eight tonnes of ammonium nitrate in Larnaca.
