The intrigue surrounding the hacking deepens as researchers unveil new evidence indicating that two additional journalists were targeted by the same military-grade spyware utilized by Italy against activists.
Earlier this month, a parliamentary committee supervising the intelligence reporting agency confirmed that Italy employed mercenary spyware developed by Israel-based Paragon Solutions against two Italian activists.
Nevertheless, the same committee, which initiated an inquiry into the hacking scandal in March, stated that it could not ascertain the identities of those responsible for targeting prominent Italian investigative journalist Francesco Cancellato.
In a recent report from Citizen Lab researchers, Ciro Pellegrino, a close associate of Cancellato and head of the research outlet’s fan page, revealed that the Naples Bureau was also targeted by users of Paragon Solutions’ spyware. The Civic Research Institute reported that a third journalist, described as a “prominent European journalist,” was similarly targeted by the spyware.
This development unfolds as Paragon and the Italian government face mounting public scrutiny. Haaretz reported this week that Paragon offered to assist the Italian government in investigating the Cancellato incident; however, Italy allegedly declined the offer, with the Italian Security Agency expressing national security concerns.
The office of Meloni did not respond to requests for comment. A debate on this matter, which has sparked outrage between the Italian opposition and Brussels MEPs, is slated for June 16th in the European Parliament.
The Guardian sought comments from Paragon regarding the latest updates and referenced communication to Haaretz, where they confirmed that they had terminated their contract with the Italian government following the revelation in February that Cancellato had been targeted. The Guardian initially reported on Paragon’s contract termination with Italy in February.
Like other spyware vendors, Paragon markets cyber weapons to government clients, ostensibly for crime prevention purposes. The company asserts that it sells spyware exclusively to democratic nations and prohibits its use by journalists or members of civil society.
So, who is behind the targeting of the two journalists?
“We’ve noticed considerable efforts to reassure our customers,” stated John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab. “The journalists’ devices displayed a clear digital fingerprint indicating Paragon’s involvement. It became even more intriguing, as we found fingerprints in both instances that corresponded to the same Paragon clients.”
A report from the Copasir Parliamentary Committee disclosed that Italy’s domestic and foreign intelligence agencies had contracts with Paragon in 2023 and 2024, with the hacking software being used under prosecutor authorization. The committee noted that the spyware was deployed to investigate fugitives, suspected terrorism, organized crime, fuel smuggling, and anti-smuggling operations.
It also mentioned that pro-immigrant human rights activists like Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia were surveilled not for their human rights work but due to their connections with “irregular immigrants.”
Source: www.theguardian.com
