WhatsApp Says Spyware Firm Paragon Focused Customers in Two Dozen Nations

An official with Meta Platforms’ common WhatsApp chat service stated Israeli spyware and adware firm Paragon Solutions had focused scores of its customers, together with journalists and members of civil society.

The official stated on Friday that WhatsApp had despatched Paragon a cease-and-desist letter following the hack. In a press release, WhatsApp stated the corporate “will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate privately.”

Paragon declined to remark.

The WhatsApp official informed Reuters it had detected an effort to hack roughly 90 customers.

The official declined to say who, particularly, was focused. But he stated these focused had been based mostly in additional than two dozen nations, together with a number of individuals in Europe. He stated WhatsApp customers had been despatched malicious digital paperwork that required no person interplay to compromise their targets, a so-called zero-click hack that’s thought-about notably stealthy.

The official stated WhatsApp had since disrupted the hacking effort and was referring targets to Canadian web watchdog group Citizen Lab. The official declined to debate the way it decided that Paragon was liable for the hack. He stated regulation enforcement and trade companions had been knowledgeable, however declined to offer particulars.

The FBI didn’t instantly return a message searching for remark.

Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton stated the invention of Paragon spyware and adware concentrating on WhatsApp customers “is a reminder that mercenary spyware continues to proliferate and as it does, so we continue to see familiar patterns of problematic use.”

Spyware retailers reminiscent of Paragon promote high-end surveillance software program to authorities purchasers and usually pitch their companies as vital to preventing crime and defending nationwide safety.

But such spy instruments have repeatedly been found on the telephones of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and not less than 50 U.S. officers, elevating considerations over the unchecked proliferation of the know-how.

Paragon – which was reportedly acquired by Florida-based funding group AE Industrial Partners final month – has tried to place itself publicly as one of many trade’s extra accountable gamers.

Its web site advertises “ethically based tools, teams, and insights to disrupt intractable threats,” and media reviews citing individuals accustomed to the corporate say Paragon solely sells to governments in steady democratic nations.

Natalia Krapiva, senior tech-legal counsel on the advocacy group Access Now, stated Paragon had the repute of being a greater spyware and adware firm, “but WhatsApp’s recent revelations suggest otherwise.”

“This is not just a question of some bad apples — these types of abuses (are) a feature of the commercial spyware industry.”

AE didn’t instantly return a message searching for remark.

© Thomson Reuters 2025