Continued from the recent WhatsApp hacking campaign (by an unconfirmed entity) Targeting nearly 100 journalists and activists. Bloomberg Report A series of Italian media organizations have filed criminal proceedings with the Roman prosecutor’s office on Wednesday. They want to discover who installed zero-click spyware, which was made by Paragon Solutions, created by Israel.
according to Bloombergthe complaint describes spyware as “an intrusion into the personal and professional dimensions of journalists, “exposing them and their sources “at great and still persistent risks to achieve their personal security.” It claims those responsible have violated Italian law and prohibited the eavesdropping of “illegal devices” of devices.
WhatsApp said it informed the victims of hackers privately, reportedly in December and targeted users in Europe. Three Italian victims stepped forward, including Francesco Cancellato fanpage.it) and activists Beppe Caccia and Luca Casarini. The last two charity work focused on the group Mediterranean saves humanity.
WhatsApp says the zero-click hacker used malicious PDFs sent to groups on the platform. The company has since released a fix to prevent future exploits.
The scandal is putting pressure on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her Italian far-right brother. Earlier this month, the government confirmed at least seven Italian phones were involved in the campaign, and its National Cybersecurity Agency is investigating. Arturo Di Corinto, a spokesman for the agency, told the agency Bloomberg The investigation is underway this week.
The Italian government denied participating in the hacker, but speculation abounded. Last week, Cabinet Minister Luca Ciriani Confirmed In parliament, the government has a long-term contract with Paragon to assist with issues related to intelligence and national security. However, he insists that the law is “strictly respected”.
guardian Report The Paragon recently suspended its contract with Italy after the spyware attack was released. However, Ciriani said the intelligence service contract with Paragon remains active, indicating a second agreement. Indeed, Israel’s Harez Report That Paragon has two contracts with Italy to use its military-grade graphite software, which WhatsApp says is used to infect victims’ devices.
Paragon is a professional spyware company whose policies only operate with democratic governments. recent enter A controversial $2 million contract was signed with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Paragon is get US private equity firm AE Industrial Partners in December. The company has not commented on hackers yet.
