This was announced by the Italian government on Wednesday evening, citing the law firm of the EU branch of WhatsApp, which belongs to the US tech company Meta. In Italy, seven journalists and activists are said to have been spied on.

Meta Had Already Reported Attack with Paragon Software

Meta had already announced a week ago a cyberattack on 90 WhatsApp users from "two dozen countries" using software from the US-Israeli surveillance company Paragon. After discovering the attack, Paragon was sent a cease-and-desist letter, according to the statement from January 31. Paragon CEO John Fleming later told the tech portal TechCrunch that the US government and unnamed "allied democracies" with the USA were among the recipients of the software. However, according to the contract, customers are prohibited from illegally attacking journalists and civil society figures, he emphasized.

The company was founded in 2019 in Tel Aviv with the involvement of former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. In 2024, it was sold to the US private equity firm AE. According to information from the Israeli portal "Ynetnews," Paragon sees itself as a victim in the matter. The company is the "scapegoat" for Meta's efforts to legally combat any breach of WhatsApp encryption, company sources told the portal. Paragon is ready for a legal battle with the tech giant. At the same time, it was assured that connections to those customers who had illegally used the "Graphite" software would be severed.

Phone Numbers from 14 EU Countries Affected

The office of Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni stated on Wednesday evening that it had asked the National Cybersecurity Agency to investigate the matter. The espionage attack was particularly directed against journalists and activists.

The agency was also informed that the spyware was found among WhatsApp users in 13 other countries of the European Union besides Italy - in Belgium, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. The APA has inquired with authorities in Austria whether more detailed information about the incident is known locally.

Investigations are the responsibility of national authorities, not the EU Commission, the responsible spokesperson stated on Thursday in Brussels before journalists. "The Commission expects a thorough investigation of such allegations from the national authorities," he emphasized. The Commission's position is "very clear: Any attempt to illegally access data of citizens, including journalists and political opponents, is unacceptable if confirmed."

The spokesperson referred to recently adopted EU legislation, such as the "Media Freedom Act" for media freedom. This includes measures to protect journalists and their families and will come into force this year. The issue is also addressed in the rule of law reports for some member states.

Critics of the Italian Government Affected

In a statement, Meloni's office announced that the cybersecurity agency was informed of seven confirmed cases of espionage attacks in Italy. The editor-in-chief of the well-known Italian news portal Fanpage, Francesco Cancellato, a well-known activist for migrant rescue, Luca Casarini, and five other individuals were reportedly victims of the espionage attack. Casarini is frequently criticized by pro-government media in Italy for the work of his charity in rescuing migrants. He was criminally prosecuted for alleged aiding of illegal immigration. However, he said he did not know who was behind the attempt to spy on him. "This is a violation of democracy," he said according to media reports.

According to earlier media reports, the Libyan activist Husam El Gomati, who lives in Sweden, is also affected. He is a critic of the migration agreement between Italy and Libya and opposes corruption of the Libyan authorities. He is now concerned that his contacts in Libya could be endangered, he recently told the British newspaper "Guardian".

The case is reminiscent of the scandal surrounding the "Pegasus" spyware from the Israeli manufacturer NSO in 2021. At that time, it became known that numerous governments worldwide - including those in several EU countries, namely Poland, Hungary, Greece, Cyprus, and Spain - had used the software for years to spy on journalists, activists, and opposition members.

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.