Greeks fine firm over phone-tapping scandal

A Greek privacy watchdog today fined mobile-phone operator Vodafone £51m (€76.1m) over a wiretapping scandal that involved the illegal monitoring of Prime Minister Costas Karamanlis.

The committee ruled that the operator failed adequately to protect the network from unknown hackers who used a legitimate surveillance system to spy on top Greek officials during the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens.

Vodafone’s Greek unit said it would challenge the decision in court.

The hackers targeted 106 people, including Karamanlis, senior military officers, human rights activists and journalists, from just before the August 2004 Games until March 2005.

Investigators have not discovered who was behind the phone taps, but Vodafone could be blamed for failing to protect its network.

The seven-member watchdog, the Hellenic Authority for the Information and Communication Security and Privacy, found Vodafone’s Greek operation responsible for obstructing its investigation and failing to report the installation of the surveillance software.

It also said it would question officials from technology equipment maker Ericsson to determine whether the Swedish-based company bore any responsibility for the wiretaps scandal.