On Friday at 2:48 p.m., Francesco Cancellato received a troubling alert on his mobile device while at his residence near Milan.
“This is a notification from WhatsApp,” the message read in Italian, as reported by TechCrunch. “In December, WhatsApp ceased operations of a spyware firm that we believe attempted to compromise your device. Our investigation suggests you may have received a malicious file through WhatsApp, and the spyware might have permitted the unauthorized access to your data, including messages stored on your device.”
“We have implemented measures to avert this specific attack in the future. Nevertheless, your device’s operating system could still be compromised due to the spyware,” the message added.
Cancellato is the first individual to publicly disclose being targeted in light of a hacking campaign allegedly executed with spyware from Paragon Solutions, as stated by WhatsApp on Friday.
WhatsApp noted that the espionage operation aimed at approximately 90 people, encompassing journalists like Cancellato and civil society members globally, notably in Europe.
“I feel violated,” Cancellato discussed with TechCrunch. Initially, he thought the message was a scam or a joke. “You often consider that a journalist could be tapped or surveilled, but it’s usually more about your own paranoia, an attempt to exorcise the reality of it. When someone tells you it’s genuine, you find it hard to accept; your mind drifts to other explanations.”
Eventually, he accepted the truth. “You question, why me? What did they want from me?”
“That’s the first inquiry; the second is what did they extract from me? Where did they go? Once they infiltrated my phone—containing my entire life including vacations, friendships, family, banking credentials, and work material—it raises profound concerns. And then thirdly, who executed this?” remarked Cancellato.
Cancellato serves as the director of Fanpage.it, an Italian news platform recognized for its investigative journalism regarding corruption, organized crime, the Catholic Church, and the youth-wing of the far-right ruling party in Italy, led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
Last year, for a comprehensive investigation, Fanpage dispatched undercover reporters to penetrate the “Gioventù Meloniana,” a faction of Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, which has governed Italy since 2022. The findings revealed videos of numerous party affiliates uttering racist comments against Jewish and Black individuals, chanting derogatory terms, and singing about the fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini.
Contact Us
Do you have more insights about Paragon and this spyware effort? From a non-work device, you can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely through Signal at +1 917 257 1382, or via Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb, or via email. You can also reach out to TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
Cancellato expressed that he chose to go public because, in his role as a journalist, his responsibility is to report the facts. However, he refrained from speculating about who might be behind it. Currently, many questions linger, including whether his phone was successfully hacked or just targeted, the aims of the hackers, and who orchestrated the attack.
WhatsApp stated that the hacking initiative was executed by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli spyware developer that purportedly offers a tool capable of infiltrating encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal, known as Graphite, as reported by Forbes in 2021.
A representative from WhatsApp did not respond to inquiries regarding whether the company could verify that Cancellato was a target.
The Guardian reported that a source associated with the company stated Paragon Solutions provides services to 35 democratic governments. Furthermore, Israeli news outlet Ynetnews indicated on Monday that the Italian government is among Paragon’s clientele.
On the same day, The Guardian reported that Husam El Gomati, a Libyan activist based in Sweden, was also alerted by WhatsApp regarding being targeted in the hacking campaign. El Gomati has been vocal against Italy’s accord with Libya, particularly the agreement aimed at preventing immigrants from traversing the Mediterranean.
TechCrunch did not receive a reply after reaching out to the press office of the Italian government or to Fabrizio Alfano, head of Meloni’s press office, both via email and WhatsApp.
Paragon Solutions has established a reputation as a conscientious surveillance technology provider. On its official site, the enterprise claims to “offer ethically grounded tools, teams, and insights to dismantle persistent threats.”
An unnamed individual from Paragon Solutions informed The New Yorker last year that the partnership with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement a few months prior in September stemmed from a vetting process in which the firm reportedly demonstrated its capacity to prevent its technology from being employed against Americans, while still enabling its use by the U.S. government.
In December 2024, Paragon Solutions was acquired by the American private equity firm AE Industrial Partners.
Neither Paragon Solutions nor AE Industrial responded to requests for comment.
WhatsApp’s notification to Cancellato suggested he reach out to Citizen Lab, a digital rights organization affiliated with the University of Toronto, which for over a decade has investigated and exposed violations related to spyware across various regions, including Ethiopia, Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Spain.
Cancellato mentioned that he and Fanpage have contacted law enforcement, telling TechCrunch he “followed the advice in the message.”
“It is quite unusual for a journalist to be surveilled in a Western democracy,” Cancellato concluded, noting that the affected phone was a company-issued device, turning it into an assault on Fanpage rather than just an individual attack on him.
Compiled by Techarena.au.
Fanpage: TechArena.au
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