The Italian government revealed Wednesday that a spyware campaign using Paragon Solutions' surveillance technology has targeted individuals across multiple European countries. This disclosure follows WhatsApp's recent announcement of disrupting a spyware operation affecting approximately 90 users worldwide.
According to Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN), seven mobile phone users in Italy were targeted. The campaign also reached users in Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden.
Among the known targets are Francesco Cancellato, editor of Italian news website Fanpage.it, Luca Casarini, founder of migrant rescue organization Mediterranea Saving Humans, and Sweden-based Libyan activist Husam El Gomati. All three individuals have been critical of current Italian government policies.
The Italian government, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has denied involvement in targeting Italian citizens. In response to the revelations, Meloni's office described the allegations as "particularly serious" and directed the ACN to investigate the matter.
Paragon Solutions, an Israel-based company, maintains it sells surveillance technology exclusively to "democratic countries" and primarily to the United States and its allies. The company states it prohibits targeting journalists and civil society figures, claiming a "zero-tolerance policy" against such actions.
WhatsApp discovered and shut down the targeting operation in December. When successfully deployed, Paragon's Graphite spyware can access all information on infected phones, including encrypted messages sent through Signal and WhatsApp.
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto is currently investigating these cases. The incident has raised questions about surveillance technology abuse in democratic nations and the accountability of spyware vendors.