Dozens Of Journalists, Civil Society Members Targeted By Israeli Spyware In Whatsapp Hack

Scores of journalists and civil society members were targeted on WhatsApp by Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions, according to a report published Friday.

In all, WhatsApp said it has “high confidence” that 90 journalists and members of civil society were targeted and “possibly compromised,” the company said in a statement to the British newspaper The Guardian.

It is unclear who directed the cyberattack, but Paragon’s Graphite spyware is known to be used by government clients.

Meta, WhatsApp’s parent company, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

WhatsApp told the British daily that it issued a “cease and desist” letter to Paragon, notifying the Israeli company that it is weighing potential legal options in response to the hack. Notifications to victims remain ongoing.

“WhatsApp has disrupted a spyware campaign by Paragon that targeted a number of users, including journalists and members of civil society. We’ve reached out directly to people who we believe were affected. This is the latest example of why spyware companies must be held accountable for their unlawful actions. WhatsApp will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate privately,” a spokesperson said.

Once infected by Graphite, a user’s phone is completely compromised, and the spyware operator can access everything on it, including encrypted messages.

Anonymous experts told The Guardian that the hack was likely a “zero-click” attack, which does not require a user to click on any links to become infected.

WhatsApp said it believes users became infected by a malicious PDF file sent to targets who were added to group chats, saying it has assessed with “confidence” that Paragon was involved in the attack.