Spyware firm cuts Italy access after alleged targeting of activists

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Spyware firm cuts Italy access after alleged targeting of activists

An Israeli spyware company has reportedly cut access to its clients in Italy following allegations that its product was used to target critics of the Italian government.

The move comes after WhatsApp alleged last week that spyware made by Paragon Solutions was used to target 90 WhatsApp users in two dozen countries, including journalists and civil society members.

Italy’s government confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that seven mobile phone users in the country had been targeted by spyware on WhatsApp, calling the incident “particularly serious”.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office denied any involvement and asked Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) to look into the matter.

The BBC has reached out to Paragon Solutions and the Italian government for comment.

Three of those allegedly targeted in Italy have come forward: Francesco Cancellato, an investigative journalist, Husam El Gomati, a critic of Italy’s involvement in Libya, and Luca Casarini, founder of an Italian NGO that assists migrants.

According to reports in

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, Paragon has now terminated its relationship with its clients in Italy. Those clients are said to include an intelligence agency and a law enforcement agency.

Paragon Solutions works exclusively with state bodies. Its flagship product is known as Graphite, and enables users to have complete access to a target phone. It says the product is intended to be used to combat crime.

The company is seen as a competitor to NSO Group, which manufactures the spyware

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WhatsApp first reported the alleged spyware campaign last week.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told BBC News it had “disrupted a spyware campaign… that targeted a number of users including journalists and members of civil society”.

“This is the latest example of why spyware companies must be held accountable”, the statement added. “WhatsApp will continue to protect peoples’ ability to communicate privately.”

The identities of other individuals allegedly targeted in the spyware campaign are not yet public.

Italy said it had been told by WhatsApp that those targeted had phone numbers with prefixes from countries including Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.

A WhatsApp spokesperson told Reuters news agency that targeted individuals were sent malicious documents that required no user interaction in order to compromise their device, a so-called zero click hack.

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