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The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Italian lawmakers seek answers from government on spyware scandal
Italian lawmakers have formally asked the government whether it spied on journalists, possibly using technology supplied by U.S.-based spyware maker Paragon, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The move marks the latest twist in a months-long saga that has left Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government facing opposition accusations that it illegally deployed surveillance against its critics; accusations it denies. The COPASIR parliamentary security committee has written to Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, a key Meloni aide who oversees intelligence matters, to ask whether reporters were targeted, the source said, asking not to be named. Mantovano did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meloni's government has repeatedly denied being involved in any illegal spying on journalists. Paragon did not immediately respond on Friday to an emailed request for comment outside office hours. In January, META said around 90 users of its popular WhatsApp chat service had been targeted by Paragon spyware. Some of them were later shown to have been Italian. Last month, Reuters reported that Italian prosecutors were looking into allegations of spying on Ciro Pellegrino and Francesco Cancellato from the Fanpage news website, Roberto D'Agostino, the head of political gossip website Dagospia, and Dutch right-wing influencer Eva Vlaardingerbroek. In a report published in June, COPASIR said Italy's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies had activated contracts with Paragon and used its technology on a limited number of people, with permission from a prosecutor. These included members of a migrant sea rescue NGO who are critical of Meloni's hardline border policies. The report found no evidence that Italian spy agencies used Paragon spyware on Cancellato's phone, as he had alleged to Reuters and other media outlets. The document made no mention of the other journalists. Following a media outcry and criticism from opposition politicians over the affair, both Paragon and Italian authorities said last month that spyware contracts between them had been terminated. In a statement provided in June to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Paragon said it had offered the Italian government a way to check whether its spyware had been used against Cancellato. The company said it ended the contract with Italy when this offer was turned down. COPASIR said Italian authorities ended the contract on their own initiative, and disputed Paragon's version of events.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Italian lawmakers seek answers from government on spyware scandal
By Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini ROME (Reuters) -Italian lawmakers have formally asked the government whether it spied on journalists, possibly using technology supplied by U.S.-based spyware maker Paragon, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The move marks the latest twist in a months-long saga that has left Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government facing opposition accusations that it illegally deployed surveillance against its critics - accusations it denies. The COPASIR parliamentary security committee has written to Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, a key Meloni aide who oversees intelligence matters, to ask whether reporters were targeted, the source said, asking not to be named. Mantovano did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meloni's government has repeatedly denied being involved in any illegal spying on journalists. Paragon did not immediately respond on Friday to an emailed request for comment outside office hours. In January, META said around 90 users of its popular WhatsApp chat service had been targeted by Paragon spyware. Some of them were later shown to have been Italian. Last month, Reuters reported that Italian prosecutors were looking into allegations of spying on Ciro Pellegrino and Francesco Cancellato from the Fanpage news website, Roberto D'Agostino, the head of political gossip website Dagospia, and Dutch right-wing influencer Eva Vlaardingerbroek. In a report published in June, COPASIR said Italy's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies had activated contracts with Paragon and used its technology on a limited number of people, with permission from a prosecutor. These included members of a migrant sea rescue NGO who are critical of Meloni's hardline border policies. The report found no evidence that Italian spy agencies used Paragon spyware on Cancellato's phone, as he had alleged to Reuters and other media outlets. The document made no mention of the other journalists. Following a media outcry and criticism from opposition politicians over the affair, both Paragon and Italian authorities said last month that spyware contracts between them had been terminated. In a statement provided in June to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Paragon said it had offered the Italian government a way to check whether its spyware had been used against Cancellato. The company said it ended the contract with Italy when this offer was turned down. COPASIR said Italian authorities ended the contract on their own initiative, and disputed Paragon's version of events.
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Italian lawmakers seek answers from government on spyware scandal
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox ROME - Italian lawmakers have formally asked the government whether it spied on journalists, possibly using technology supplied by U.S.-based spyware maker Paragon, a source familiar with the matter said on Friday. The move marks the latest twist in a months-long saga that has left Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's conservative government facing opposition accusations that it illegally deployed surveillance against its critics - accusations it denies. The COPASIR parliamentary security committee has written to Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, a key Meloni aide who oversees intelligence matters, to ask whether reporters were targeted, the source said, asking not to be named. Mantovano did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Meloni's government has repeatedly denied being involved in any illegal spying on journalists. Paragon did not immediately respond on Friday to an emailed request for comment outside office hours. In January, META said around 90 users of its popular WhatsApp chat service had been targeted by Paragon spyware. Some of them were later shown to have been Italian. Last month, Reuters reported that Italian prosecutors were looking into allegations of spying on Ciro Pellegrino and Francesco Cancellato from the Fanpage news website, Roberto D'Agostino, the head of political gossip website Dagospia, and Dutch right-wing influencer Eva Vlaardingerbroek. In a report published in June, COPASIR said Italy's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies had activated contracts with Paragon and used its technology on a limited number of people, with permission from a prosecutor. These included members of a migrant sea rescue NGO who are critical of Meloni's hardline border policies. The report found no evidence that Italian spy agencies used Paragon spyware on Cancellato's phone, as he had alleged to Reuters and other media outlets. The document made no mention of the other journalists. Following a media outcry and criticism from opposition politicians over the affair, both Paragon and Italian authorities said last month that spyware contracts between them had been terminated. In a statement provided in June to the Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Paragon said it had offered the Italian government a way to check whether its spyware had been used against Cancellato. The company said it ended the contract with Italy when this offer was turned down. COPASIR said Italian authorities ended the contract on their own initiative, and disputed Paragon's version of events. REUTERS
The Star
19-06-2025
- Politics
- The Star
Alleged Italian phone hacking involves political gossip website, sources say
Italian investigative journalist Ciro Pellegrino shows his phone screen displaying a threat notification from Apple warning of a mercenary spyware attack, in Naples, Italy, June 11, 2025. REUTERS/Matteo Ciambelli/File Photo ROME (Reuters) -Italian prosecutors are looking into the alleged hacking of seven phones, including that of the head of political gossip website Dagospia, sources said, as part of a surveillance scandal involving the technology of spyware company Paragon. The probe follows reports on the alleged spying on two investigative journalists, which have triggered opposition protests and the termination of contracts between Italy and U.S.-owned Paragon. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's administration has denied involvement in illicit activities. Prosecutors in Rome and Naples are investigating the crime of unauthorized access into the phones, sources with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, adding that Dagospia founder Roberto D'Agostino was among seven journalists and activists who were allegedly spied on. D'Agostino, whose website Dagospia produces salacious gossip with political behind-the-scenes stories and is a daily must-read for many Italian reporters, was not immediately available for comment. Dagospia, however, reported on the news involving its founder, republishing reports about the investigations from other media outlets under the headline: "Dagospia ends up being spied upon! The illegal wiretaps scandal gets bigger." As part of their investigation, prosecutors are also looking into the alleged hacking of the phones of investigative reporters, Ciro Pellegrino and Francesco Cancellato, both from the Fanpage website, the sources said. Italy's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies activated contracts with Paragon in 2023 and 2024, respectively, and used it on a limited number of people with permission from a prosecutor, a report by the parliamentary committee on security, COPASIR, said. The foreign intelligence agencies used the spyware to search for fugitives, to counter illegal immigration, alleged terrorism, organised crime, fuel smuggling and for counter-espionage and internal security activities, COPASIR said. The committee said it found no evidence that Italian intelligence services used Paragon spyware on Cancellato. Separately, internet watchdog group Citizen Lab said it found evidence of spying on Pellegrino's phone. Former Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, leader of a small opposition party, called for clarity on Thursday over the hacking case, adding that one does not spy on journalists in democracies. (Reporting by Paolo Chiriatti, Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise ArmelliniEditing by Bernadette Baum)
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Italy and Israeli Paragon part ways after spyware affair
By Giuseppe Fonte and Alvise Armellini ROME (Reuters) -Italy and Israeli spyware maker Paragon said they have ended contracts following allegations that the Italian government used the company's technology to hack the phones of critics, according to a parliamentary report on Monday and the company. Both sides said they had severed ties, giving conflicting accounts that triggered widespread criticism from opposition parties in Italy, while the journalists' federation FNSI called on prosecutors to investigate to ascertain the facts. An official with Meta's WhatsApp chat service said in January that the spyware had targeted scores of users, including, in Italy, a journalist and members of the Mediterranea migrant sea rescue charity critical of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. The government said in February that seven Italian mobile phone users had been targeted by the spyware. At that time the government denied any involvement in illicit activities and said it had asked the National Cybersecurity Agency to look into the affair. A report from the parliamentary committee on security, COPASIR, said on Monday that Italian intelligence services had initially put on hold and then ended their contract with Paragon following a media outcry. It was unclear when the contract was ended. However, COPASIR recalled that, addressing parliament on February 12, the government had said that it was still in place. The committee also added it found no evidence that Francesco Cancellato, a reported target and editor of investigative website Fanpage, had been put under surveillance using Paragon's spyware, as he had alleged to Reuters and other media outlets. In a statement quoted by Fanpage, Paragon said it stopped providing spyware to Italy when Cancellato's alleged involvement became public, and said the government declined an offer to jointly investigate whether and how he was spied upon. The company did not reply to requests for comment from Reuters. Opposition politicians called on the government to clarify the matter in parliament. Meloni's office declined to comment. The COPASIR report said Italy's domestic and foreign intelligence agencies activated contracts with Paragon in 2023 and 2024 respectively and used it on a very limited number of people, with permission from a prosecutor. The foreign intelligence agency used the spyware to search for fugitives, counter illegal immigration, alleged terrorism, organised crime, fuel smuggling and counter-espionage and internal security activities, COPASIR said. It added that members of the Mediterranea charity were spied on "not as human rights activists, but in reference to their activities potentially related to irregular immigration", with permission from the government. Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano, Meloni's point man on intelligence matters, authorised the use of Paragon spyware on Mediterranea activists Luca Casarini and Beppe Caccia on September 5, 2024, the report said. Mantovano was not immediately available for comment. A Sicilian judge last month ordered six members of Mediterranea, including Casarini and Caccia, to stand trial on accusations of aiding illegal immigration, the first time crew members of a rescue vessel have faced such prosecution. All have denied wrongdoing.
