Latest news with #FrancescoCancellato
The Guardian
20-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Australian government agencies could be customers of Israeli spyware, research suggests
Australian government agencies could be customers of military-grade spyware from Israeli firm Paragon Solutions, a new report suggests. In January, Meta revealed more than 90 people, including journalists, had their WhatsApp compromised by the software, although it is unknown if any Australians were targeted. In a report published by the Citizen Lab on Wednesday, the group identified two IP addresses located in Australia among countries where the company's Graphite spyware tool was suspected to have been used. Citizen Lab had received a tip which they believe allowed Paragon's server infrastructure to be mapped. The software can provide full access to the instant messaging apps on a user's device. The service is only sold to governments around the world. It is not sold to private enterprises. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Neither of the Australian domains listed in the report show any records of having being owned before, according to a who-is domain search conducted on the two sites listed. The domains could have been used by any federal or state agency. Sources have told Guardian Australia that the Department of Home Affairs and Australian Signals Directorate have no links to Paragon Solutions. When asked if Paragon had Australian customers, or if the software had been used to target Australians, the company did not directly respond to the question. 'Paragon's mission is to support national security and law enforcement agencies, in full accordance with applicable laws and regulations, in their fight against serious crime and terrorism while minimising the impact on privacy,' the company's executive chairman, John Fleming, said. 'Paragon maintains a robust due diligence framework to vet customers, ensuring they operate within democratic systems and that their law enforcement and intelligence agencies have the proper legal framework to use our tools. We have a zero-tolerance policy for customers who violate our terms of service, and a proven track record of enforcing those rules.' If the Australian government is a customer there is no suggestion by Citizen Lab in their report that they have misused it or violated Paragon's terms of service. The Citizen Lab report came after WhatsApp owner, Meta announced in January it had 'high confidence' that 90 journalists and other members of civil society had been compromised on the messaging platform, after being targeted by spyware owned by Paragon Solutions. WhatsApp had sent Paragon a cease and desist letter and said it was exploring its legal options. The company alerted those who had been targeted at the time. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion When asked whether Australians were targeted, Meta declined to comment further. An Italian investigative journalist, Francesco Cancellato, who is known for exposing young fascists within prime minister Giogia Meloni's far-right party, came forward after receiving a notification from WhatsApp about the attack. Paragon Solutions terminated its contract with Italy after the revelations. Meloni's office denied that domestic intelligence services or the government were behind the alleged breaches against the journalist and activists. Citizen Lab, based at the University of Toronto, are specialists at researching cyber and surveillance techniques.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italian media groups file criminal complaint over the WhatsApp hack on journalists
The fallout continues from the recent WhatsApp hacking campaign (by a still-unconfirmed entity) that targeted nearly 100 journalists and activists. Bloomberg reported on Wednesday that a collection of Italian media groups has filed a criminal complaint with the Rome Public Prosecutor's Office. They hope to discover who installed the zero-click spyware, which was made by the Israeli-founded Paragon Solutions. According to Bloomberg, the complaint describes the spyware as an "intolerable intrusion into the personal and professional dimension of journalists," exposing them and their sources "to enormous and still persistent risks for their individual safety." It alleges that those responsible violated Italy's laws banning the "illicit installation" of eavesdropping equipment. WhatsApp said it reached out privately to notify the victims of the hack, which reportedly took place in December and targeted users across Europe. Three Italian victims have come forward, including Francesco Cancellato (a journalist and head of and activists Beppe Caccia and Luca Casarini. The latter two focus on charity with the group Mediterranea Saving Humans. 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. WhatsApp said the zero-click hack used malicious PDFs sent to groups on the platform. The company has since released a fix to prevent future uses of the exploit. The scandal is putting pressure on Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and her far-right Brothers of Italy party. Earlier this month, the government confirmed that at least seven Italian phones were involved in the campaign and that its National Cybersecurity Agency was investigating. Arturo Di Corinto, a spokesman for the agency, told Bloomberg this week that the investigation was ongoing. The Italian government has denied involvement in the hacks, but speculation abounds. Last week, Cabinet Minister Luca Ciriani confirmed in parliament that the government had a long-standing contract with Paragon to assist with intelligence and national security-related issues. However, he insisted the law was "rigorously respected." The Guardian reported that Paragon recently suspended a contract with Italy after the spyware attack became public. However, Ciriani said the intelligence services contract with Paragon is still active, which suggests there was a second agreement. Indeed, Israel's Haaretz reported that Paragon had two contracts with Italy to use its military-grade Graphite software, which WhatsApp has said was used to infect the victims' devices. Paragon, essentially a professional spyware company, has a policy of only doing business with democratic governments. It recently entered into a controversial $2 million contract with the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) department. Paragon was acquired in December by American private equity company AE Industrial Partners. The company hasn't yet commented on the hacking.
The Guardian
19-02-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Journalists launch legal action against Italian government over spyware claims
Italy's national union for journalists has submitted a criminal complaint to prosecutors in Rome after Giorgia Meloni's government shut down questions in parliament over suspicions it had illegally used spyware technology to hack the phones of critics instead of criminals. The legal action on Wednesday was triggered by the absence of clarity from the government since revelations emerged in late January that a migrant activist and Francesco Cancellato, an investigative journalist, were among at least seven people in Italy whose mobile phones had been targeted by an entity using Graphite, a military-grade spyware produced by the Israel-based Paragon, which is intended for use on criminals. Fury over the alleged spyware hacks was compounded after Lorenzo Fontana, the president of the Italian parliament, signed a document on Tuesday, seen by the Guardian, which invokes a rule allowing the government to refrain from responding to questions on the scandal raised by opposition MPs, claiming that 'all unclassified information has already been shared' and that any other details were under state secrecy rules. Meloni's office has denied that domestic intelligence services or the government were behind the alleged hacks. The Guardian was the first to report that Paragon had terminated its contract with Italy over what a person close to the matter said was a breach of Italy's contract with the firm, which forbids use of its spyware against journalists or other members of civil society. The Italian government initially denied the relationship had been severed, but late on Friday, Italy's intelligence agency, Aise, acknowledged that the relationship had been suspended, according to the Ansa news agency. Ansa reported that the service would be suspended until an internal investigation into the matter had concluded. During a meeting last week with Copasir, the parliamentary committee for the intelligence services, Giovanni Caravelli, Aise's chief, admitted the agency had used the Paragon spyware but not to monitor journalists or activists. But the union FNSI, which with the Italian Order of Journalists submitted the legal complaint 'against unknown individuals', is sceptical. 'Was Francesco Cancellato the only journalist in Italy targeted? We don't think so,' said Alessandra Costante, FNSI's secretary general. 'We want clarity, we want journalists to be able to do their job without the risk of being intercepted. We're dealing with facts that not only violate the criminal code but the constitution itself. It is also extremely serious that the government has decided not to report to parliament.' It remains unclear which government body may have ordered the use of the Paragon spyware and whether any such use of spyware was cleared by a judge. Matteo Renzi, the former prime minister, accused the government of 'wounding democracy' while Federico Fornaro, an MP for the Democratic party, said the government's avoidance of questions was 'a slap in the face to parliament'. Spyware was used to target Luca Casarini, founder of the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, who has been a vocal critic of Italy's alleged complicity in abuses suffered by migrants in Libya, according to an alert Casarini received from WhatsApp. The US-based messaging app said in late January that 90 of its users, including journalists and members of civil society, had been targeted by entities using Paragon spyware. It has sent alerts to individuals who were targeted. 'By refusing to answer the questions in parliament, the government is laying bare its deep difficulties,' said Casarini, who has reported the surveillance against him to prosecutors in Palermo. 'Regardless of which agency deployed this spyware against me, these wiretaps are entirely illegal. There is no doubt that the targets are political opponents of the government. This is a tactic of authoritarian governments.' On Wednesday, his NGO released the first part of a parallel inquiry into the case by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks digital threats against civil society and has analysed Casarini's phone. The Toronto researchers said they hoped to trace the agency responsible for the attack. Sign up to Headlines Europe A digest of the morning's main headlines from the Europe edition emailed direct to you every week day after newsletter promotion 'The analysis of the cyber-espionage attack suffered by Luca Casarini could reveal very interesting details about its source,' the researchers wrote in the report, 'potentially even pinpointing the private company entrusted with such operations – and, by extension, the eventual client.' They added: 'There is no doubt that only government agencies could have employed such technology.' If reports that the spyware was used to target people who were critical of the government's policies are proved to be true, then it could represent a severe constitutional breach of democratic rights. 'Preventive wiretaps may be conducted by intelligence agencies or the police only in cases of [the targeted individuals] being a serious danger to the national and economic security of the nation,' said Giuseppe Inzerillo, a criminal law expert in Palermo. 'Such measures can also be employed before a crime has been committed, typically targeting potential terrorists or mafia members.'' However, critics argue that preventive wiretaps operate at the very limits of constitutionality. In practice, a prime minister, interior minister or justice minister may authorise intelligence officials to intercept communications and conversations, or to collect metadata from individuals deemed a 'threat to national security'. 'Legal experts have long criticised this practice, noting that the targeted individuals have no means of defence,' said Inzerillo.
BBC News
06-02-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Spyware firm cuts Italy access after alleged targeting of activists
An Israeli spyware company has reportedly cut access to its clients in Italy following allegations that its product was used to target critics of the Italian government. The move comes after WhatsApp alleged last week that spyware made by Paragon Solutions was used to target 90 WhatsApp users in two dozen countries, including journalists and civil society government confirmed in a statement on Wednesday that seven mobile phone users in the country had been targeted by spyware on WhatsApp, calling the incident "particularly serious".Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office denied any involvement and asked Italy's National Cybersecurity Agency (ACN) to look into the matter. The BBC has reached out to Paragon Solutions and the Italian government for of those allegedly targeted in Italy have come forward: Francesco Cancellato, an investigative journalist, Husam El Gomati, a critic of Italy's involvement in Libya, and Luca Casarini, founder of an Italian NGO that assists to reports in The Guardian and Haaretz, Paragon has now terminated its relationship with its clients in Italy. Those clients are said to include an intelligence agency and a law enforcement Solutions works exclusively with state bodies. Its flagship product is known as Graphite, and enables users to have complete access to a target phone. It says the product is intended to be used to combat company is seen as a competitor to NSO Group, which manufactures the spyware first reported the alleged spyware campaign last week. A WhatsApp spokesperson told BBC News it had "disrupted a spyware campaign... that targeted a number of users including journalists and members of civil society". "This is the latest example of why spyware companies must be held accountable", the statement added. "WhatsApp will continue to protect peoples' ability to communicate privately."The identities of other individuals allegedly targeted in the spyware campaign are not yet said it had been told by WhatsApp that those targeted had phone numbers with prefixes from countries including Spain, Portugal, Greece, Sweden, Belgium, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, and the Netherlands.A WhatsApp spokesperson told Reuters news agency that targeted individuals were sent malicious documents that required no user interaction in order to compromise their device, a so-called zero click hack.
