Latest news with #Cancellato
The Guardian
01-05-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Second Italian journalist allegedly targeted with ‘mercenary spyware'
A second Italian journalist whose news organisation exposed young fascists within the prime minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right party was targeted with sophisticated 'mercenary spyware', according to an Apple notification received by the reporter. Ciro Pellegrino is the second reporter at the investigative news outlet Fanpage to fall victim to an alleged spyware attack, after his editor-in-chief, Francesco Cancellato. Cancellato revealed in January that he had received a notification that he had been targeted with software produced by the Israel-based Paragon Solutions, a company that had a client relationship with the Italian government at the time. Pellegrino is the sixth individual in Italy to have been subjected to spyware allegedly deployed by state actors, after Cancellato and four other civil society members and activists. The others are Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia, the Italian founders of the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, who are vocal critics of Italy's alleged complicity in abuses suffered by migrants in Libya; Father Mattia Ferrari, a chaplain on a migrant rescue ship owned by the NGO, who had a close relationship with Pope Francis; and David Yambio, an Italy-based human rights activist. Pellegrino told the Guardian: 'On Tuesday evening I received a notification from Apple informing me that it had detected a mercenary spyware attack targeting my device. I couldn't believe it. I thought it was a prank. It's the first time anything like this has happened to me. It's a horrible feeling. 'Why have I been targeted? I've been asking myself that ever since the notification arrived. I will – and we will – ask that question publicly of anyone who has the authority and the duty to answer. An answer is owed … to everyone who has an interest in knowing who, in this country, has torn to shreds the clear boundary between security and surveillance, between legality and abuse.' Pellegrino, who has been critical of Meloni's government on social media, contacted researchers at the University of Toronto's Citizen Lab, which tracks digital surveillance of civil society actors and helps to identify the kinds of spyware used in such attacks. Cancellato, Casarini, Caccia, Ferrari and Yambo were allegedly targeted with the military-grade Paragon software. Citing a person familiar with the matter, the Guardian reported in February that Paragonhad terminated its client relationship with Italy. It is not yet clear when Pellegrino's mobile phone was attacked or whether Paragon was used in his case. Like other spyware vendors, Paragon sells its cyberweapon to government clients who are supposed to use it to prevent crime. The company has said that under its terms of service, government clients are not permitted to target journalists or other members of civil society. A Paragon spokesperson said: 'Paragon requires all users of our technology to adhere to terms and conditions that preclude the illicit targeting of journalists and other civil society leaders. While we are not able to discuss individual customers, we have a zero-tolerance policy for violations of our terms of service.' In March during a classified meeting with Copasir, the Italian parliamentary committee for national security, Alfredo Mantovano, a cabinet undersecretary, admitted his government had approved the use of Paragon to spy on members of a humanitarian NGO because they were allegedly deemed a possible threat to national security. Copasir is investigating whether the secret services breached the law in using Paragon Solutions to monitor activists and journalists, and is expecting to report on its findings soon. John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, said he believed the Italian government, a confirmed former Paragon user, was 'in a good position' to know whether the spyware had been used to target Pellegrino because it would have kept logs of deployments. 'The Paragon affair is not over for Italy, and now is a critical moment for clear and transparent official communication,' Railton said.
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italian sea rescue activist targeted with spyware, according to Meta alert
By Raphael Satter WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Meta Platforms warned a well-known Italian migrant rescue activist that he was recently targeted with spyware, according to a screenshot of the alert shared with Reuters, making it the second such case made public in Italy so far. Luca Casarini, who co-founded the Mediterranea Saving Humans charity, said he received the warning over Meta's WhatsApp chat platform on Friday. It was the same day Meta publicly accused surveillance company Paragon Solutions of targeting roughly ninety of its users in more than two dozen countries, including an unspecified number of reporters and activists. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Meta's announcement, which was paired with a cease-and-desist letter to Paragon, alleged that the reportedly American-owned company had tried to steal data from its users using a sophisticated technique that required no interaction from its target, a so-called "zero click" hack. Meta declined to comment on the message sent to Casarini. Paragon and its owner, Florida investment group AE Industrial Partners, did not immediately respond to emails. Casarini is often criticized by anti-migrant, pro-government newspapers in Italy for his charity's work saving migrants in the Mediterranean, where Africans desperate to reach European shores in overcrowded boats that often capsize. Casarini has previously been prosecuted for allegedly abetting illegal immigration, and he told Reuters that his communications had been intercepted as part of that case. But he said he did not know who was behind the attempt to break into his phone flagged by WhatsApp or whether it was judicially sanctioned. "It's a violation of democracy," he said. Italy's interior ministry did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Casarini's disclosure follows a few days after that of Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato, who outed himself as the recipient of one of the WhatsApp alerts on Friday. Cancellato told Reuters his independent online newspaper, Fanpage, specialized in undercover investigations, notably a recent expose of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's youth wing which showed members describing themselves as fascists and shouting the Nazi slogan, "Sieg Heil." Cancellato said he was shocked by the intrusion but wanted to reserve judgment about who was behind the hacking until his newspaper had conducted its own investigation into the spying.
Reuters
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Italian sea rescue activist targeted with spyware, according to Meta alert
WASHINGTON, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Meta Platforms (META.O), opens new tab warned a well-known Italian migrant rescue activist that he was recently targeted with spyware, according to a screenshot of the alert shared with Reuters, making it the second such case made public in Italy so far. Luca Casarini, who co-founded the Mediterranea Saving Humans charity, said he received the warning over Meta's WhatsApp chat platform on Friday. It was the same day Meta publicly accused surveillance company Paragon Solutions of targeting roughly ninety of its users in more than two dozen countries, including an unspecified number of reporters and activists. Meta's announcement, which was paired with a cease-and-desist letter to Paragon, alleged that the reportedly American-owned company had tried to steal data from its users using a sophisticated technique that required no interaction from its target, a so-called "zero click" hack. Meta declined to comment on the message sent to Casarini. Paragon and its owner, Florida investment group AE Industrial Partners, did not immediately respond to emails. Casarini is often criticized by anti-migrant, pro-government newspapers in Italy for his charity's work saving migrants in the Mediterranean, where Africans desperate to reach European shores in overcrowded boats that often capsize. Casarini has previously been prosecuted for allegedly abetting illegal immigration, and he told Reuters that his communications had been intercepted as part of that case. But he said he did not know who was behind the attempt to break into his phone flagged by WhatsApp or whether it was judicially sanctioned. "It's a violation of democracy," he said. Italy's interior ministry did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Casarini's disclosure follows a few days after that of Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato, who outed himself as the recipient of one of the WhatsApp alerts on Friday. Cancellato told Reuters his independent online newspaper, Fanpage, specialized in undercover investigations, notably a recent expose of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's youth wing which showed members describing themselves as fascists and shouting the Nazi slogan, "Sieg Heil." Cancellato said he was shocked by the intrusion but wanted to reserve judgment about who was behind the hacking until his newspaper had conducted its own investigation into the spying.
The Guardian
31-01-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Italian investigative journalist targeted on WhatsApp by Israeli spyware
An Italian investigative journalist who is known for exposing young fascists within prime minister Giorgia Meloni's far-right party was targeted with spyware made by Israel-based Paragon Solutions, according to a WhatsApp notification received by the journalist. Francesco Cancellato, the editor-in-chief of the Italian investigative news outlet Fanpage, was the first person to come forward publicly after WhatsApp announced on Friday that 90 journalists and other members of civil society had been targeted by the spyware. The journalist, like dozens of others whose identities are not yet known, said he received a notification from the messaging app on Friday afternoon. WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, has not identified the targets or their precise location, but said they were based in more than two dozen countries, including European countries. WhatsApp said it discovered that Paragon was targeting its users in December and shut down the vector used to 'possibly compromise' the individuals. Like other spyware makers, Paragon sells use of its spyware, known as Graphite, to government agencies, who are supposed to use it to fight and prevent crime. Paragon's spyware was allegedly delivered to targets who were placed on group chats without their permission, and sent malware through PDFs in the group chat. Paragon makes no-click spyware, which means users do not have to click on any link or attachment to be infected, and is simply delivered to the phone. It is not clear how long Cancellato may have been compromised. But the editor published a high-profile investigative story last year that exposed how members of Meloni's far-right party's youth wing had engaged in fascist chants, Nazi salutes, and antisemitic rants. Fanpage's undercover reporters – although not Cancellato personally – had infiltrated groups and chat forums used by members of the National Youth, a wing of Meloni's Brothers of Italy party. The outlet published clips of National Youth members chanting 'Duce' – a reference to Benito Mussolini – and 'Sieg Heil', and boasting about their familial connections to historical figures linked to neofascist terrorism. The stories were published in May. Cancellato, 45, said he did not have reason to suspect in December that his mobile device was compromised and has never been told by any authorities that he is under investigation. The news felt like a 'violation', he said. 'We just began the technical analysis on the device in order to evaluate the actual extent of this attack, what was actually taken or spied on, and for how long. Obviously it is also in our interest to know, if it's possible to do so, who ordered this espionage activity,' Cancellato told the Guardian. Meloni's party faced criticism in Italy and in Brussels following the publication of Fanpage's reporting. A European Commission spokesperson at the time said: 'The point of view of the European Commission and of President Ursula von der Leyen on the symbolism of fascism is very clear: we do not believe it is appropriate, we condemn it, we think it is morally wrong.' The president of the Jewish Community of Rome, Victor Fadlun, called for 'appropriate actions be taken' after the Fanpage reports. 'It is imperative that society and institutions react strongly against all forms of hatred and discrimination,' he wrote on X. Giovanni Donzelli, a Brothers of Italy MP and party organizer, said at the time there was 'no place' for 'racists, extremists, and antisemites' in his party. Paragon Solutions declined to comment. Have you received a notification from WhatsApp? Please get in touch:
