--- title: WhatsApp Users Targeted by Paragon Spyware: Legal and... description: Mediterranea Saving Humans revealed that its founder was targeted by Paragon spyware. After WhatsApp disrupted the espionage campaign, Paragon Solutions... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/whatsapp-users-targeted-by-paragon-spyware-legal-and-ethical-concerns-arise-gbdxtluug twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: WhatsApp Users Targeted by Paragon Spyware: Legal and Ethical Concerns Arise | daily.dev og:description: Mediterranea Saving Humans revealed that its founder was targeted by Paragon spyware. After WhatsApp disrupted the espionage campaign, Paragon Solutions... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/whatsapp-users-targeted-by-paragon-spyware-legal-and-ethical-concerns-arise-gbdxtluug og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/gBDxTluuG.png og:image:alt: WhatsApp Users Targeted by Paragon Spyware: Legal and Ethical Concerns Arise og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # WhatsApp Users Targeted by Paragon Spyware: Legal and Ethical Concerns Arise **[Collections](https://daily.dev/sources/collections)** · 2 min read · 2 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary Mediterranea Saving Humans revealed that its founder was targeted by Paragon spyware. After WhatsApp disrupted the espionage campaign, Paragon Solutions terminated its contract with the Italian government due to ethical breaches. The spyware affected around 90 individuals, including journalists and activists. The misuse of Paragon's spyware has led to scrutiny of their ethical practices, reminiscent of the NSO Group controversy. The Citizen Lab is investigating the incident to address issues surrounding digital privacy and human rights. ## Content # Paragon Spyware: Government Contracts and Ethical Breaches Uncovered Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian nonprofit focused on rescuing immigrants, has come forward with alarming news—its founder, Luca Casarini, was targeted by Paragon spyware. This revelation comes on the heels of WhatsApp disrupting an espionage campaign involving Paragon spyware that affected around 90 individuals, including journalists and activists critical of the Italian government. Despite numerous inquiries, the Italian government has yet to respond regarding its involvement with Paragon spyware. **Paragon's Contract Termination** Following WhatsApp's disruption of the spying campaign, Paragon Solutions, the Israeli spyware manufacturer, terminated its contract with the Italian government. Reports indicate the Italian government breached the contractual terms and ethical frameworks. Paragon reaffirmed its zero-tolerance policy on targeting journalists and civil society figures, stating that their tools are developed ethically and only sold to the U.S. government and allied countries. **Wider Surveillance Concerns** It has been disclosed by WhatsApp that the spyware campaign using Paragon's technology was not contained within Italy. Prominent victims such as journalist Francesco Cancellato and activist Luca Casarini were targeted, but the scale extends across Europe. WhatsApp identified at least seven targets within Italy, along with others distributed among several European countries. However, WhatsApp has kept the identities of the affected individuals confidential. **Paragon's Ethical Stance Under Scrutiny** Paragon Solutions reiterated that their tools are intended for lawful surveillance and adhere to strict ethical standards. However, the misuse of their Graphite spyware for unlawful surveillance and stealing sensitive data has put them under intense scrutiny. This situation is reminiscent of the NSO Group's Pegasus spyware controversy, which resulted in significant legal and operational repercussions for NSO. Should these ethical breaches be proven, Paragon could face similar outcomes, potentially losing contracts with key partners, including the U.S. government. **Ongoing Investigation** The Citizen Lab from the University of Toronto is currently investigating the incident, bringing to light the persistent issues surrounding the misuse of surveillance tools by governments. This ongoing enquiry aims to provide clarity and, potentially, accountability for what is a growing concern in the realm of digital privacy and human rights. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#tech-news](https://daily.dev/tags/tech-news), [#security](https://daily.dev/tags/security), [#privacy](https://daily.dev/tags/privacy) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/whatsapp-users-targeted-by-paragon-spyware-legal-and-ethical-concerns-arise-gbdxtluug) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"WhatsApp Users Targeted by Paragon Spyware: Legal and Ethical Concerns Arise","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/whatsapp-users-targeted-by-paragon-spyware-legal-and-ethical-concerns-arise-gbdxtluug","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/whatsapp-users-targeted-by-paragon-spyware-legal-and-ethical-concerns-arise-gbdxtluug"},"datePublished":"2025-02-04T21:01:06.876Z","dateModified":"2025-02-06T17:55:29.368Z","description":"Mediterranea Saving Humans revealed that its founder was targeted by Paragon spyware. 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