An employee with popular metal platforms WhatsApp Chat Service -Said Israeli Spyware Company Paragon Solutions had its users’ scores, including journalists and members of civil society.
The authority said on Friday that WhatsApp sent Paragon a letter of ceasing and giving up after the hack. In a statement, WhatsApp said the company “will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate in particular.”
Paragon refused to comment.
The WhatsApp employee told Reuters that he had detected an effort to break into approximately 90 users.
The employee refused to say who specifically was targeted. But he said the directed guidelines were based on more than two dozen countries, including several people in Europe. He said whatsapp users received malicious electronic documents that did not require user interaction to compromise their goals, the so -called zero click hack that is considered particularly stealthy.
The employee said the WhatsApp had interrupted the hacker’s effort and was referring goals to the Canadian Internet group Citizen Laboratory. The employee refused to discuss how he determined that Paragon was responsible for the Hack. He said police and industry partners were informed, but refused to provide details.
The FBI did not immediately return a message asking for comments.
Citizen Lab researcher John Scott-Railton said the discovery of Spyware Paragon directed to WhatsApp users “is a reminder that spyware mercenary continues to proliferate, so we continue to see family standards for troubled use.”
Spyware traders, such as Paragon, sell state -of -the -art surveillance software to government customers and usually have their services as critics to combat crime and protect national security.
But these espionage tools were repeatedly discovered on journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and at least 50 US employees, raising worries about the unmarked proliferation of technology.
Paragon – which would have been acquired by Florida’s AE Investment Group, AE Industrial Partners last month – tried to publicly position itself as one of the most responsible participants in the sector.
Its site announces “ethical -based tools, teams and insights to interrupt intractable threats,” and media reports citing people familiar with the company say Paragon only sells governments in stable democratic countries.
Natalia Krapiva, senior technology counselor at The Advocacy Group Access Now, said Paragon had a reputation for being a better spyware company, “but recent WhatsApp revelations suggest the opposite.”
“This is not just a matter of some bad apples – these types of abuse (are) a feature of the commercial spyware industry.”
AE did not immediately return a message asking for comments.
© Thomson Reuters 2025