Paragon is not collaborating with Italian authorities probing spyware attacks, report says

In the previous year, WhatsApp and Apple informed several individuals in Italy, including journalists and activists, that they had been targeted by government spyware. WhatsApp specifically identified Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-American surveillance technology firm, as the provider of the “Graphite” spyware used in a hacking operation that affected around 90 individuals globally.

The alerts triggered a continuing scandal in Italy. After receiving the notifications, several victims lodged criminal complaints with Italian authorities, prompting prosecutors to launch an investigation.

Currently, Paragon is reportedly not cooperating despite its earlier commitments to assist Italian authorities with the investigation.

Wired Italy reported that Italian prosecutors sent a formal information request to Paragon through the Israeli government. However, a year into the investigation, the company has not yet responded.

In response to the spyware scandal in Italy, Paragon criticized the Italian government for rejecting its offer to investigate whether a journalist had been spied on with Graphite. Consequently, Paragon terminated its contracts with Italy’s intelligence agencies, AISE and AISI, partly due to the government’s refusal to accept the company’s assistance.

The reason for Paragon’s lack of response to the prosecutor’s request remains unclear. There is speculation that the Israeli government may have intervened. In 2024, The Guardian reported that Israeli authorities seized documents from NSO’s office to prevent the company from complying with a lawsuit against WhatsApp.

Israeli human rights lawyer Itay Mack informed Wired Italy that while the Israeli government could compel local companies to cooperate with international judicial requests for information, this has never occurred.

Earlier this year, Spain’s High Court closed its investigation into the use of NSO’s spyware against Spanish politicians, citing non-cooperation from Israeli authorities.

Paragon, the Israeli embassy in Washington D.C., and the prosecutors’ offices in Rome and Naples, which are working together on the investigation, did not respond to JS’s request for comment.

Historically, it is exceptionally uncommon for a company to publicly dispute with a former client over government spyware. Paragon’s actions may stem from its efforts to position itself as an ethically responsible alternative to other spyware firms like NSO Group or Intellexa, which have been involved in numerous global controversies.

Paragon’s official website, now inactive, claimed to offer “ethically based tools, teams, and insights” to its clients.

This incident marks Paragon’s first public scandal, but the company currently holds a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. For the past year, ICE has been using Paragon’s spyware through its Homeland Security Investigations arm to combat terrorism and drug trafficking, resulting in the arrest and deportation of tens of thousands of immigrants across the country.

The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has consistently denied allegations of hacking two journalists, Francesco Cancellato and Ciro Pellegrino, from the news site Fanpage, despite evidence from The Citizen Lab confirming their phones were compromised with Graphite.

Other victims in Italy include activists from Mediterranea Saving Humans, a nonprofit focused on rescuing migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea.

Last June, the Italian parliamentary committee overseeing the country’s intelligence agencies reviewed the scandal, concluding that the activists’ surveillance was lawful. However, they found no evidence of Cancellato being targeted and did not investigate Pellegrino’s case.

In March, the prosecutors who sought information from Paragon announced that a forensic analysis confirmed Cancellato’s phone was indeed hacked, while the same could not be concluded for Pellegrino’s device.

The investigation by the prosecutors remains active.