WhatsApp Accuse Israel Spyware Company Paragon Of Targeting Users
Israel’s spyware company Paragon Solutions targeted 90 WhatsApp users, said the Meta chat service. It said the targeted people also include journalists and members of civil society. WhatsApp had sent Paragon a cease-and-desist letter following the hack, officials told Reuters news agency.
While declining to reveal who was targeted specifically, the official confirmed that the platform is referring to the Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab. It was also not revealed how WhatsApp found out that Paragon was responsible for the breach. The official told the news agency that law enforcement and industry partners had been informed, but would not go into detail.
In a statement released, WhatsApp said that the company “will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate privately”. The platform said it had “high confidence” the users in question had been targeted and “possibly compromised”, reported The Guardian.
Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton told Reuters that the discovery of Paragon spyware targeting WhatsApp users “is a reminder that mercenary spyware continues to proliferate and as it does, so we continue to see familiar patterns of problematic use”.
Also Read: Israel’s NSO Group Liable For Pegasus Hacking Of WhatsApp Users: US Court
Paragon refused to comment on the issue. The Israeli company sells high-end surveillance software to government clients. Their advertisement often takes the tone that their services are critical to fighting crime and protecting national security.
Reportedly, similar spy tools, which allow remote access to mobile devices without the victim’s knowledge, have been discovered on the phones of journalists, activists, and at least 50 US officials, raising concerns about the unchecked proliferation of spyware technology.
Israel’s company NSO Group Technology is also accused of exploiting a bug in WhatsApp to install Pegasus spyware allowing authorised surveillance. A US judge accused NSO of infecting and surveilling the phones of 1,400 people over a two-week period in May 2019 via its notorious Pegasus software. Many reports in recent years have found that Israeli-made Pegasus spyware has been used by governments across the world to spy on activists, journalists, and even heads of state. It was a long legal battle between WhatsApp and NSO.
US District Judge Phyllis Hamilton in Oakland, California, found out that the Israeli company had violated granted a motion by WhatsApp and found NSO liable for hacking and breach of contract. The case will now proceed to a special jury trial on the issue of damages, Hamilton said.
Also Read: Apple Alerts iPhone Users In India And 91 Other Countries Of ‘Mercenary Spyware’ Attack
The US judge found that the NSO Group has violated the US Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Apple also filed similar lawsuit against the company, but walked back in September.
In a statement released, WhatsApp, the most popular messaging app in the world, said, “After five years of litigation, we’re grateful for today’s decision. NSO can no longer avoid accountability for their unlawful attacks on WhatsApp, journalists, human rights activists and civil society. With this ruling, spyware companies should be on notice that their illegal actions will not be tolerated”.
Paragon was co-founded by former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. Reportedly, it was sold to a US private equity firm, AE Industrial Partners, for $900m in 2024. The company’s website advertises “ethically based tools, teams, and insights to disrupt intractable threats”. AE did not immediately responded to Reuter’s request for comment.
