{"id":56466,"date":"2025-12-04T12:19:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-04T20:19:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/?p=56466"},"modified":"2025-12-04T12:19:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T20:19:50","slug":"intellexa-leaks-reveal-wider-reach-of-predator-spyware","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.antiwar.com\/blog\/2025\/12\/04\/intellexa-leaks-reveal-wider-reach-of-predator-spyware\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Intellexa Leaks\u2019 Reveal Wider Reach of Predator Spyware"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Highly invasive spyware from consortium led by a former senior Israeli intelligence official and sanctioned by the US government is still being used to target people in multiple countries, a joint investigation <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/securitylab.amnesty.org\/latest\/2025\/12\/intellexa-leaks-predator-spyware-operations-exposed\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">published<\/a> Thursday revealed.<\/p>\n<p><em>Inside Story <\/em>in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/greece\">Greece<\/a>, <em>Haaretz<\/em> in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel\">Israel<\/a>, Swiss-based WAV Research Collective, and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/amnesty-international\">Amnesty International<\/a> collaborated on the investigation into Intellexa Consortium, maker of Predator commercial spyware. The \u201cIntellexa Leaks\u201d show that clients in Pakistan \u2013 and likely also in <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.recordedfuture.com\/research\/intellexas-global-corporate-web\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">other countries<\/a> \u2013 are using Predator to spy on people, including a featured Pakistani <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/human-rights\">human rights<\/a> lawyer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis investigation provides one of the clearest and most damning views yet into Intellexa\u2019s internal operations and <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/technology\">technology<\/a>,\u201d <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/latest\/news\/2025\/12\/intellexa-spyware\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> Amnesty International Security Lab technologist Jurre van Bergen.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"bluesky-embed\" data-bluesky-uri=\"at:\/\/did:plc:6mdjzok5cvvco3etxuonjuwa\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3m757bsax6k2u\" data-bluesky-cid=\"bafyreie6jqpldbadimdmtvomweb5lxqp3hca65cdd65jigun7c2wecq3dq\" data-bluesky-embed-color-mode=\"system\">\n<p lang=\"en\">\ud83d\udea8Intellexa Leaks:&#8221;Among the most startling findings is evidence that\u2014at the time of the leaked training videos\u2014Intellexa retained the capability to remotely access Predator customer systems, even those physically located on the premises of its govt customers.&#8221;<br \/>\nsecuritylab.amnesty.org\/latest\/2025\/&#8230;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:6mdjzok5cvvco3etxuonjuwa\/post\/3m757bsax6k2u?ref_src=embed\">[image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Vas Panagiotopoulos (<a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:6mdjzok5cvvco3etxuonjuwa?ref_src=embed\">@vaspanagiotopoulos.com<\/a>) <a href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/did:plc:6mdjzok5cvvco3etxuonjuwa\/post\/3m757bsax6k2u?ref_src=embed\">December 4, 2025 at 12:07 AM<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/embed.bsky.app\/static\/embed.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Predator works by sending malicious links to a targeted phone or other hardware. When the victim clicks the link, the spyware infects and provide access to the targeted device, including its encrypted instant messages on applications such as Signal and WhatsApp, as well as stored passwords, emails, contact lists, call logs, microphones, audio recordings, and more. The spyware then uploads gleaned data to a Predator back-end server.<\/p>\n<p>The new investigation also revealed that in addition to the aforementioned \u201cone-click\u201d attacks, Intellexa has developed \u201czero-click\u201d capabilities in which devices are infected via malicious advertising.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2024, the US Treasury Department <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy2155\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sanctioned<\/a> two people and five entities associated with Intellexa for their alleged role \u201cin developing, operating, and distributing commercial spyware technology used to target Americans, including US government officials, journalists, and policy experts.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe proliferation of commercial spyware poses distinct and growing security risks to the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/united-states\">United States<\/a> and has been misused by foreign actors to enable human rights abuses and the targeting of dissidents around the world for repression and reprisal,\u201d the department said at the time.<\/p>\n<p>Those sanctioned include Intellexa, its founder Tal Jonathan Dilian \u2013 a former chief commander of the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/israel-defense-forces\">Israel Defense Forces<\/a>\u2019 top-secret Technological Unit \u2013 his wife and business partner Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou; and three companies within the Intellexa Consortium based in North Macedonia, Hungary, and Ireland.<\/p>\n<p>In September 2024, Treasury <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy2581\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">sanctioned<\/a> five more people and one more entity associated with the Intellexa Consortium, including Felix Bitzios, owner of an Intellexa consortium company accused of selling Predator to an unnamed foreign government, for alleged activities likely posing \u201ca significant threat to the national security, foreign policy, or economic health or financial stability of the United States.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Intellexa Leaks reveal that new consortium employees were trained using a video demonstrating Predator capabilities on live clients. raising serious questions regarding clients\u2019 understanding of or consent to such access.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe fact that, at least in some cases, Intellexa appears to have retained the capability to remotely access Predator customer logs \u2013 allowing company staff to see details of surveillance operations and targeted individuals raises questions about its own human rights due diligence processes,\u201d said van Bergen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf a mercenary spyware company is found to be directly involved in the operation of its product, then by human rights standards, it could potentially leave them open to claims of liability in cases of misuse and if any human rights abuses are caused by the use of spyware,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Dilian, Hamou, Bitzios, and Giannis Lavranos \u2013 whose company Krikel purchased Predator spyware \u2013 are currently on trial in Greece for allegedly violating the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/privacy\">privacy<\/a> of Greek journalist Thanasis Koukakis and Artemis Seaford, a Greek-American woman who worked for tech giant Meta. Dilian denies any wrongdoing or involvement in the case.<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this week, former Intellexa pre-sale engineer Panagiotis Koutsios <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dnews.gr\/eidhseis\/news-in-english\/559724\/former-intellexa-employee-testifies-to-secret-demonstrations-of-spyware-to-foreign-intelligence-services?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">testified<\/a> about traveling to countries including <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/colombia\">Colombia<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/kazakhstan\">Kazakhstan<\/a>, <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/kenya\">Kenya<\/a>, Mexico, Mongolia, the <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/tag\/united-kingdom\">United Kingdom<\/a>, and Uzbekistan, where he pitched Predator to public, intelligence, and state security agencies.<\/p>\n<p>The new joint investigation follows Amnesty International\u2019s \u201c<a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/documents\/act10\/7245\/2023\/en\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Predator Files<\/a>,\u201d a 2023 report detailing \u201chow a suite of highly invasive surveillance technologies supplied by the Intellexa alliance is being sold and transferred around the world with impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Predator case has drawn comparisons with Pegasus, the zero-click spyware made by the Israeli firm NSO Group that has been used by governments, spy agencies, and others to invade the privacy of <a class=\"rm-stats-tracked\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/news\/2021\/07\/20\/no-one-safe-phone-numbers-14-world-leaders-pegasus-list\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">targeted<\/a> world leaders, political opponents, dissidents, journalists, and others.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Highly invasive spyware from consortium led by a former senior Israeli intelligence official and sanctioned by the US government is still being used to target people in multiple countries, a joint investigation published Thursday revealed. Inside Story in Greece, Haaretz in Israel, Swiss-based WAV Research Collective, and Amnesty International collaborated on the investigation into Intellexa [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":372,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"coauthors":[806],"class_list":["post-56466","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"meta_box":{"disable_donate_message":"0","custom_donate_message":"","subtitle":"\u201cThis investigation provides one of the clearest and most damning views yet into Intellexa\u2019s internal operations and technology,\u201d said Amnesty International Security Lab technologist Jurre van Bergen. 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