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The Italian governmentsaid in a crush releaseon Wednesday that a spyware hunting expedition give away by WhatsApp , and carried out with spyware made by Paragon Solutions , target citizenry across several land in Europe .
The government , go by far - right prime minister Giorgia Meloni , denied being behind the targeting of Italian citizensFrancesco Cancellato , a journalist who lead the intelligence websiteFanpage.it , and Luca Casarini , an activist who works forMediterranea Saving Humans , a non - government system that helps immigrants .
In the release , the government said that its justificative cybersecurity organization , the Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale ( ACN — or National Cybersecurity Agency ) , contacted WhatsApp and its law of nature firm Advant , which told the agency that there are seven mobile phone users in Italy who were targeted in the spyware campaign . WhatsApp declined to allow the identities of the targets , citing secrecy concerns , the governing ’s statement read .
WhatsApp also order that there are mobile phone drug user in Austria , Belgium , Cyprus , Czech Republic , Denmark , Germany , Greece , Latvia , Lithuania , the Netherlands , Portugal , Spain , and Sweden , based on their country phone computer code , harmonize to the Italian government ’s statement .
WhatsApp did not immediately respond to a request for remark , asking to confirm the number of aim in Italy , the countries mentioned by the Italian governing , and the other claims attribute to WhatsApp by the Italian administration .
The Italian politics ’s assertion arrive Clarence Day afterWhatsApp order that it had disrupted a spyware campaigntargeting around 90 users in over two dozen countries , including several in Europe .
As of Wednesday , Cancellato , Casarini , and Sweden - free-base Libyan activistHusam El Gomati , who has been critical of the Italian and Libyan governments ’ activities against immigrant in the Mediterranean Sea , have come forward saying they were targets of the spyware hunting expedition .
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Paragon tell TechCrunchon Tuesday that it sells its surveillance technology to the U.S. political science and other unspecified “ allies . ”
The company also state that it “ requires that all users agree to damage and conditions that explicitly prohibit the illicit targeting of journalists and other polite bon ton figures , ” adding that it has a “ zero - allowance insurance ” against such targeting . The spyware maker allege it would “ terminate our relationship with any client ” that violates its terms of service .
Fleming and Paragon have not responded to requests for commentary for this article , asking to confirm or deny whether the countries mentioned by the Italian authorities are indeed Paragon customers .
Italy ’s ACN , as well as the prime diplomatic minister ’s agency , did not react to a asking for gossip .
