Officials allegedly spent $3.5 million on a surveillance system to snoop on the government’s rivals
Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office used Hermes spyware to snoop on political opponents under the previous government, the news outlet Wyborcza reported on Monday.
According to the article, in spring 2021, the Prosecutor’s Office purchased the spy system for PLN 15 million (over $3.5 million).
The outlet claimed that Hermes’ surveillance spyware was used to “illegally” monitor politicians, officials, judges and prosecutors who were allegedly disloyal to the government led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s conservative Law and Justice (PiS) party, which ruled the country between 2015 and 2023.
The article stated that the current leadership of the prosecutor’s office learned about the use of spyware by accident after receiving a bill for the periodic subscription to the Hermes system. To service the snooping software, the prosecution allegedly hired two former employees of the Polish Internal Security Agency. According to the outlet, one of them was reportedly paid 1,000 zlotys ($250) per hour.
Wyborcza noted that the Hermes software was even more technologically advanced than the Israeli-made Pegasus system, which the Polish authorities were previously accused of using. The spyware can be secretly installed on mobile phones and other devices.
Earlier this month, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk revealed widespread use of Pegasus software which the previous government bought from the Israeli NSO Group. He announced he had documents proving that the authorities used the high-tech surveillance system to target a “very long” list of political opponents, Associated Press reported.
A scandal dubbed ‘Polish Watergate’ by local media alleged that the government of Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki had spied on Krzysztof Brejza, a member of the Civic Platform party who coordinated its 2019 election campaign, and on Roman Giertych, a lawyer involved in cases against the PiS party. It was also alleged that Ewa Wrzosek, a prosecutor and opposition figure, had been snooped-on.
In 2022, Kaczynski admitted that Poland purchased the spyware, denying, however, that the surveillance system targeted politicians, claiming it was used by secret services.
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