GoKawiilLast year, WhatsApp and Apple notified several people in Italy, including journalists and activists, that they had been targeted with government spyware. In particular, WhatsApp pointed the finger at the Israeli-American surveillance tech maker Paragon Solutions as the company that provided the technology for a hacking campaign that targeted around 90 people around the world with its “Graphite” spyware.
The notifications prompted a scandal in Italy that is still unfolding. After being notified of the attacks, a number of victims filed criminal complaints with Italian authorities, and prosecutors then opened an investigation.
Now, it appears that Paragon, despite its previous promises to help Italian authorities investigate the scandal, is said to be uncollaborative.
According to Wired Italy, Italian prosecutors sent a formal request for information to Paragon, via the Israeli government, but a year after the investigations were opened, the company has yet to respond.
Following the eruption of the spyware scandal in Italy, Paragon publicly called out the Italian government, claiming it refused the company’s offer to investigate whether a journalist was hacked and spied on with its Graphite spyware. The company went so far as to cancel its contract with Italy’s two spy agencies, AISE and AISI, in part because the Italian government turned down the company’s offer to help.
It’s unclear why Paragon has not responded to the prosecutor’s request. It’s possible that the Israeli government intervened. In 2024, The Guardian reported that the Israeli government seized documents from NSO’s office to prevent the company from complying with demands in the lawsuit against WhatsApp.
Israeli human rights lawyer Itay Mack told Wired Italy that the Israeli government could force local companies to cooperate with foreign judicial requests for information, “but this has never happened.”
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