An Italian political advisor who worked for center-left parties has gone public about being hacked through an advanced Israeli-developed spyware program. Francesco Nicodemo is the latest in a growing list of victims in a spyware scandal that is shaking Italy and raising questions about how intelligence services use surveillance technology.
Francesco Nicodemo, who works as a consultant for left-leaning politicians in Italy, waited ten months before publicly disclosing that he had been targeted by the Paragon spyware program. On Thursday, he chose to break his silence in a post on Facebook.
Nicodemo explained that he had previously not wanted to publicize his case because he "didn't want to be used for political propaganda," but that "the time has now come".
"It's time to ask a very simple question: Why? Why me? How is it possible that such a sophisticated and complex tool was used to spy on a private citizen, as if he were a drug dealer or a subversive threat to the country?", Nicodemo wrote. "I have nothing more to say. More people must speak out. Others must explain what happened".
Extensive scandal grows
Nicodemo's revelation once again expands the scope of the ongoing spyware scandal in Italy. Among those affected are several journalists, migration activists, prominent business leaders, and now a political consultant with a history of working for the center-left party Partito Democratico and its politicians.
The online publication Fanpage reported first that Nicodemo was among the people who received a notification from WhatsApp in January that they had been targeted by the spyware program.
Questions about usage
Governments and spyware manufacturers have long claimed that their surveillance products are used against serious criminals and terrorists, but recent cases show that this is not always the case.
— The Italian government has provided certain spyware victims with clarity and explained the cases. But others remain disturbingly unclear, says John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab who has investigated spyware companies and their abuses for years.
— None of this looks good for Paragon, or for Italy. That's why clarity from the Italian government is so essential. I believe that if they wanted to, Paragon could give everyone much more clarity about what's going on. Until they do, these cases will remain a burden on their shoulders, adds Scott-Railton, who confirmed that Nicodemo received the notification from WhatsApp.
Intelligence services' involvement
It is still unclear which of Paragon's customers hacked Nicodemo, but an Italian parliamentary committee confirmed in June that some of the victims in Italy were hacked by Italian intelligence services, which report to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's government.
In February, following revelations about the first victims in Italy, Paragon severed ties with its government customers in the country, specifically the intelligence services AISE and AISI.
The parliamentary committee COPASIR later concluded in June that some of the publicly identified Paragon victims, namely the migration activists, had been legally hacked by Italian intelligence services. However, the committee found no evidence that Francesco Cancellato, editor of the news site Fanpage.it which had investigated the youth organization of Meloni's governing party, had been hacked by the intelligence services.
Paragon, which has an active contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, states that the U.S. government is one of its customers.
FACTS: Paragon
Paragon Solutions is an Israeli cybersecurity company that develops advanced spyware for intelligence services and law enforcement agencies. The software can be used to monitor smartphones and other digital devices.
The company was acquired by American private equity giant AE Industrial and has since been merged with cybersecurity firm REDLattice. Paragon's clients include the US government, including the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency.
In February 2024, Paragon terminated its contracts with Italian intelligence services AISE and AISI after several Italian citizens, including journalists and activists, were identified as victims of the company's spyware.
Paragon is marketed as a tool against serious crime and terrorism, but its use in Italy has raised questions about whether the spyware is also being used against political opponents and journalists.
