Paragon Accuses Italy of Blocking Spyware Probe, Cancels Contracts
Spyware maker Paragon has accused the Italian government of obstructing its assistance in investigating whether a journalist was targeted with its technology, according to a statement released on Monday. This accusation led to the termination of contracts with its Italian government clients, as Haaretz first reported.
Paragon stated that it offered the Italian government and parliament a way to determine if its system had been used against the journalist in violation of Italian law and contractual terms. “As the Italian authorities chose not to proceed with this solution, Paragon terminated its contracts in Italy,” the statement read.
TechCrunch confirmed the accuracy of the statement with Paragon. Emily Horne of WestExec Advisors, responding on behalf of Paragon’s executive chairman John Fleming, directed all media queries to the statements in the Haaretz article.
This marks the first instance of a spyware provider publicly stating it severed ties with a specific customer following reports of abuse.
The accusation is the latest development in a scandal that began in January, when WhatsApp disclosed a mass-hacking campaign targeting its users. WhatsApp alerted approximately 90 users who were targeted with spyware developed by Paragon, a company co-founded by former Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak. Paragon, which has a contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, has presented itself as a more responsible vendor compared to others in the industry.
Francesco Cancellato, director of news website Fanpage, who was the first to report receiving WhatsApp’s notification, is the journalist referenced in Paragon’s statement.
Paragon’s statement is a response to a report by the Italian parliamentary committee COPASIR, which investigated the spyware scandal. The committee found no evidence that Cancellato was targeted by Italy’s intelligence agencies, AISI and AISE, which were confirmed as Paragon customers.
Shortly after Haaretz published Paragon’s statement, the Italian government refuted Paragon’s claims, stating that the decision to suspend and then terminate the contract was mutual, according to sources quoted by ANSA.
The sources added that the Department of Information for Security (DIS) refused Paragon’s offer to check the logs on the agencies’ Graphite spyware systems because it would have exposed confidential data to a foreign company and compromised national security. Allowing Paragon’s assistance would have damaged the reputation of Italian intelligence agencies among their international counterparts.
COPASIR and the Italian government have not yet responded to TechCrunch’s requests for comment.
Cancellato responded to Paragon’s statement in a video posted on Fanpage, questioning whether COPASIR or Paragon was lying and urged Paragon to reveal who spied on Fanpage.
In late April, Fanpage reporter Ciro Pellegrino reported receiving a notification from Apple that he had been targeted with government spyware. COPASIR’s investigation did not include Pellegrino’s case.
COPASIR confirmed that other victims of Paragon spyware, including Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia of Mediterranea Saving Humans, and David Yambio of Refugees in Libya, were lawfully targeted for activities related to alleged illegal immigration.
COPASIR found no evidence of surveillance against Mattia Ferrari, a priest working on the rescue ship of Mediterranea Saving Humans, who also received a notification from WhatsApp.
In a statement to ANSA, COPASIR expressed surprise at Paragon’s statement and offered to declassify its hearing with Paragon representatives to defend its inquiry.
