Italian political consultant says he was targeted by Paragon spyware

Francesco Nicodemo, a consultant who works with left-wing politicians in Italy, has been announced as the latest person to be targeted by Paragon spyware in the country.

On Thursday, Nicodemo said in a Facebook post that for 10 months he preferred not to publicize his case because he “did not want to be used for political propaganda,” but now “the time has come.”

“It is time to ask a very simple question: Why? Why me? How could such a sophisticated and sophisticated tool be used to spy on an ordinary citizen, as if he were a drug dealer or a subversive threat to the country?” Nicodemo wrote. “I have nothing to say. Others must speak up. Others must explain what happened.”

Online news site Fanpage first reported the news that Nicodemo was among the people who received a WhatsApp notification in January.

The revelation that Nicodemo was targeted by Paragon spyware expands the scope of Italy’s ongoing spyware scandal, which has claimed numerous victims from different positions in society: numerous journalists, immigration activists, prominent business executives, and now a political consultant with a history of working for the center-left Democratic Party (PD) and its politicians.

Governments and spyware makers have long claimed that their surveillance products are used against dangerous criminals and terrorists, but these recent cases show that’s not always true.

“The Italian government has made clear some of the goals of the spyware and explained the cases. But others remain worryingly unclear,” said John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, who has for years investigated spyware companies and their breaches, including some involving the use of Paragon spyware.

“None of this looks good for Paragon or for Italy. That’s why clarity from the Italian government is so essential. I think if they wanted to, Paragon could give everyone more clarity on what’s going on. Until they do, these cases will remain a burden on their necks,” said Scott Railton, who confirmed that Nicodemo had received the notification from WhatsApp.

Natalie DiGregorio, who works with Nicodemo at the PR firm Lievito Consulting, told TechCrunch in an email that Nicodemo did not want to comment beyond what he told Fanpage and his public Facebook post.

At this stage, it is not clear who among Paragon’s agents targeted Nicodemo, but an Italian parliamentary committee confirmed in June that some victims in Italy were targeted by Italian intelligence agencies, which fall under the supervision of right-wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

A spokesperson for the Italian Prime Minister’s Office did not respond to a request for comment from TechCrunch.

Jennifer Erras, vice president of marketing at REDLattice, a cybersecurity company that merged with Paragon after US private equity giant AE Industrial acquired the Israeli spyware maker, also did not respond to a request for comment.

In February, following revelations of the first wave of victims in Italy, Paragon cut ties with its government clients in Italy, specifically the intelligence agencies AISE and AISI.

Later in June, the Italian Parliamentary Committee for the Security of the Republic, known as COPASIR, concluded that some publicly identified victims of Paragon spyware, namely immigration activists, had been legally infiltrated by Italian intelligence services.

However, COPASIR said there was no evidence that Francesco Cancellato, director of Fanpage.it, an Italian news website that investigated the youth wing of Italy’s ruling far-right party, led by Meloni, had been targeted by any of the Italian intelligence agencies, AISI and AISE.

COPASIR also did not investigate the case of Cancellato’s colleague Ciro Pellegrino.

Paragon, which told TechCrunch that the US government is one of its clients, has an active contract with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement.