Italian lawmakers say that Italy used spyware to target immigration activists, but not against the journalist

An Italian parliamentary committee confirmed that the Italian government used spyware created by the Israeli company Paraguce to penetrate many activists working to save migrants at sea. However, the committee said that its investigations concluded that a prominent Italian journalist was not among the victims, leaving major questions about the spyware attacks without answer.

Parliamentary Committee for Republic Security, known as Copasir, Publish a report On Thursday, this concluded a period for a period of months of using Paragon spyware, known as graphite, through Italy. Israeli newspaper Haritz He wrote for the first time on the report.

In January, WhatsApp started sending notifications to about 90 of its usersAlerting them that they may be targeted by spy tools in Paraguce. numerous the people In Italy Come forward After receiving the notifications, he paid a scandal in Italy, which has a long history of hosting Spy programs CompaniesAs well as her government king Spy programs Use and Violations.

Since then, Copasir has been in allegations with the aim of clarifying exactly what happened.

Copasir specifically investigated targeting Luca Casarini and Giuseppe CacciaBoth work for him The Mediterranean Sea Save humansItalian non -profit organization with the task of saving immigrants trying to cross the Mediterranean. In both their case, the committee concluded that they were legally targeting by Italian intelligence agencies as part of the investigations related to the alleged facilitation of illegal immigration to the country.

But the Copasir Committee concluded that there is no evidence for this Franchisco CNCELlatoA journalist, who also received a notification from WhatsApp, warns him that he was a target of spyware in Paragon, was targeted by intelligence agencies in Italy.

The committee wrote that its representatives were able to inquire about the database, spying agencies of intelligence agencies and auditing records for the Canallato phone number, and they did not find any relevant records. The committee said that it also did not find evidence of any legal requests to spy on CNCELlato from the country’s public prosecutor’s office, nor from the information management of security, or BIt is a better Italian government administration that oversees the activities of the country’s intelligence agency, AISE and AISI.

The report indicated that Paraguce has foreign government agents who can target Italians, leaving the door open that this may be how it is possible to explain targeting the Canallato phone. Copasir did not provide any evidence to support this theory.

CNCELlato is a manager fanpage.itItalian news site Many investigationsIncluding one on The youth of the wing From the extreme right -wing ruling party in Italy, led by Prime Minister Georgia Meloni. This investigation revealed that, separately, the members made racist statements and hesitated the fascist songs and slogans.

The report did not refer to the Ciro Pellegrino, a CANCELlato colleague, who received a notice from Apple at the end of April saying It was targeting government spyware. It is not clear whether Pellegrino is targeted with Paragon spyware, and Apple’s notice has not said.

The Italian government, as well as COPASIR, did not respond to a suspension, specifically asking about CNCELlato and Pellegrino.

CNCELlato responded to the report In an article published on FridayAs he asked about the conclusions of Cobasir about his case, and asked for more explanations and best.

“A closed case? No at all,” CNCELlato wrote.

For John Scott Rilton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Laboratory, the Human Rights Organization, which is achieved in the violations of spyware (including the last cases of ill -treatment in Italy), the determination of who was targeting CNCELlato is the highest question that was not mentioned by the report.

“This report creates a problem with Paragon Solutions because the report leaves the most sensitive issue politically without an answer: Who targeted this journalist? This result cannot make Paragon happy.” “Since the case of Francesco remains completely unpopular, all eyes have returned to Paragon for an answer.”

Scott Reilton also said that Citizen Lab is still investigating the CNCELlato case and analyzing his phone and data. CNCELlato also confirmed this for Techcrunch.

Paraguce did not respond to a request for comment.

An investigation also in cases of Copasir in cases Mattia FerrariThe priest is on board a welding ship from the Mediterranean Sea; and David YambioPresident and co -founder of the NGO Refugees in LibyaAnd it is active in Italy. Copasir said she did not find evidence that Ferrari was targeted, but he stressed that there was evidence that Yamio was a legal target for monitoring, although not with spyware in Paragon.

New details revealed by the investigation

As part of its achievement in the use of the alleged Italian government of spyware, Copasir began finding information about Paragon’s use in the country, and asking for information from other government agencies, as well as from Citizen Lab, and the owner of WhatsApp.

According to the report, the Prosecutor to Combat Copasir told that no prosecutor’s office in Italy has acquired or used Paragon spyware. (In Italy, every local office in a naval enjoys enjoys spying programs.) The Karabinieri Military Police, Polizia Di Stato gave the National Crime Di Finanza committee the same answer.

Paraguce told Copasir that he had contracts with the intelligence agents in Italy, Iz and AISI. The report said that Copasir representatives visited DIS, in addition to the Al Waklin offices, and examined a database and review of spyware to find out how agencies used Paragon spyware, including their targeting. The actors concluded that there are no violations related to monitoring people who have advanced as the goals of spyware in the past few months.

The COPASIR report also revealed new details about how the Paragon’s Spyware works behind the scenes. COPASIR said it is verifying that to use Paragon spyware, the operator must log in using a user name and password, and that every publication on spyware leaves detailed records, which are on a customer controlled by the customer and the inability to access it by Paragon. However, according to Copasir, the customer cannot delete data from auditing records on their servers.

The committee also revealed details about the relationship between Paraguce and its Italian intelligence agents, AISE and AISI, who said it has since canceled their contracts with Paragon.

The Foreign Intelligence Agency in Italy, which started using graphite on January 23, 2024 after signing a contract a month ago, was using spyware in Paraguce with the aim of investigating “illegal immigration, searching for fugitives, smuggling fuel, fighting terrorism, and organized crimes, as well as internal security activities for the agency itself.”

By doing this, the report said that AISE targeted a “very limited number” but it is not specified by phone users and access to both communications in the actual and stored time sent through encrypted applications from end to finish.

Copasir said that AISI, the local intelligence agency in Italy, began to use graphite early in 2023 and that its canceled contract now ended on November 7, 2025. Like AISE, AISI used graphite in a small but unknown number of cases related to the required stir.

For every publication of spy programs, the agencies said they have obtained appropriate legal approval, according to the report.

Copasir said it has an opportunity to review Paragon contracts with its Italian customers and verify the presence of items that prevent the use of spyware against journalists and human rights activists.

In March, after the investigation, Citizen Lab published a report on Paragon Which – which Bee The governments of Australia, Canada, the Russians of Cyprus, Denmark, Israel and Singapore as potential agents of the spyware maker.

Last year, the American private stock giant AE Industrial According to what was reported, Parajon bought For a deal that can reach $ 900 million.