Italian journalist targeted with Paragon spyware via WhatsApp after investigating far-right political groups

Summary

An Italian journalist, Francesco Cancellato, was targeted with Paragon spyware through his WhatsApp account in late last month. Cancellato, editor-in-chief of the Italian newspaper Fanpage, is one of four victims to publicly confirm being spied on, all of whom have been critical of the Italian government. He learned of the hack through a message from Meta, which informed him his account had been compromised. Digital forensic researchers from Citizen Lab confirmed the spyware was not Pegasus but identified it as Paragon. Cancellato has previously conducted undercover investigations into far-right political groups in Italy, including the party led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He expressed concern that the spyware could be used to suppress dissent and warned that such surveillance is only the beginning of its expanded use.