Italy and Israeli Paragon part ways after spyware affair

Italy has terminated a contract with Israeli spyware maker Paragon, a parliamentary document showed on Monday, following allegations that the Italian government used its technology to hack critics’ phones. Paragon did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Read More …

Eight things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit

On May 6, WhatsApp scored a major victory against NSO Group when a jury ordered the infamous spyware maker to pay more than $167 million in damages to the Meta-owned company. The ruling concluded a legal battle spanning more than Read More …

Turkish intel busts cyber espionage ring stealing personal data

Türkiye’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has dismantled a cyber espionage network that sought to steal personal and financial data from citizens by imitating corporate identities through fake cell towers, security sources said Saturday. After months of investigations and surveillance, seven Read More …

Israeli spyware firm NSO to pay Meta $168m. in damages for hijacking WhatsApp servers

A federal jury in California handed Israel’s NSO Group a $168 million penalty on Tuesday for hijacking the servers of WhatsApp in order to hack users of the Meta-owned chat platform on behalf of foreign spy agencies. The case caps Read More …

Court document reveals locations of WhatsApp victims targeted by NSO spyware

NSO Group’s notorious spyware Pegasus was used to target 1,223 WhatsApp users in 51 different countries during a 2019 hacking campaign, according to a new court document. The document was published on Friday as part of the lawsuit that Meta-owned Read More …

Israel: Unit 8200 created AI language learning tool from intercepted Palestinian Arabic comms

Israel’s military surveillance Unit 8200 has reportedly developed a vast database of intercepted Palestinian communications in order to construct an artificial intelligence tool similar to ChatGPT, a joint investigation by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Mekomit alleged on Thursday. Israel Read More …

Israel: IDF to impose social media restrictions after probe revealed posts assisted Hamas

The IDF is working to impose restrictions on soldiers and officials regarding their activity on social media, following the IDF probe published on Monday which showed markers left by IDF soldiers on social media granted Hamas a complete breakdown of Read More …

Israel: Extortionists posed as women online, trapped victims with intimate photos

Two men were arrested on Thursday for operating a sophisticated sexual extortion network. According to the investigation, they posed as women on social media lured victims into sending intimate photos, and then threatened to expose the images unless they paid Read More …

Spyware maker Paragon confirms US government is a customer

Israeli spyware maker Paragon Solutions confirmed to TechCrunch that it sells its products to the U.S. government and other unspecified allied countries. Paragon’s executive chairman John Fleming said in a statement to TechCrunch on Tuesday that “Paragon licenses its technology Read More …

Meta’s WhatsApp says spyware company Paragon targeted users in two dozen countries

An official with Meta Platforms’ (META.O), opens new tab popular WhatsApp chat service said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society. The official said on Friday that WhatsApp had Read More …