Meta Manager Hacked With Spyware and Wiretapped by Greek Intelligence Agency

Artemis Seaford, a former security policy manager at Meta, was allegedly wiretapped and had her phone hacked by Greece’s national intelligence agency, according to The New York Times.

Seaford discovered she might have been hacked with NSO’s Predator spyware when she found her name on a leaked list of spyware targets in November 2022. Cybersecurity researchers from Citizen Lab later confirmed that her phone had been infected with Predator starting in September 2021 for at least two months. The Times also reported that Seaford was subjected to a year-long wiretap.

Unlike the infamous Pegasus spyware, Predator infects a phone when the victim clicks on a link, while Pegasus can infect a device simply by calling it. Predator has previously been known to target government dissidents and journalists.

According to the Times, the spyware was installed on Seaford’s phone after she scheduled a COVID-19 booster shot appointment through the Greek government’s web portal. A few hours after making the appointment, she received a text message asking for confirmation by clicking a link. This link, as reported by the Times, was the one that infected her device.

The motive behind Seaford becoming a target of Greek intelligence remains unclear, and she herself is uncertain.