A major political scandal has erupted in Greece following a security breach involving Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s national security adviser, Thanos Dokos. According to Euractiv, Dokos became the victim of a sophisticated prank by the Russian duo Vovan and Lexus, who posed as Ukrainian government officials. During the video call, the adviser inadvertently shared sensitive insights regarding defense and internal political dynamics, reigniting debates about cyber-hygiene among high-ranking European officials.
The pranksters, notorious for their Kremlin-aligned disinformation activities, managed to trick Dokos into discussing classified or sensitive topics, including details on Ukrainian naval drone technology and the potential for early parliamentary elections in Greece. While the Greek government maintains that no state secrets were compromised, calling the incident a “hybrid attack” involving deepfake technology, the domestic opposition remains unconvinced. The PASOK party and other opposition figures have called for Dokos’s resignation, arguing that his conduct revealed sensitive details about the movements of Greek intelligence officials.
This incident is part of an ongoing pattern where Russian operatives target officials across the Baltic states and Europe to sow discord and gather intelligence. By leveraging artificial intelligence to mimic high-level figures, Moscow aims to manufacture controversies that weaken the unity of the NATO-Ukraine alliance. For Ukraine, the stability of its diplomatic partnerships is paramount; such lapses in security not only expose individuals but also feed the Russian propaganda machine, which constantly seeks to paint Western support as coordinated by compromised or incompetent actors. As the war in Ukraine persists, protecting high-level communication channels from such hybrid threats becomes as critical as military defense. The situation in Athens serves as a stark reminder to Western capitals that in the digital age, information security is inseparable from national security.