A prominent Italian businessman aims at Paragon Spyware, according to local news.
On Thursday, Italian online website of research Irpimedia and newspaper La stampa He said Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone was among about 90 people who received a notice from Whatsapp in January, warning him that he had targeted Spyware from Paragon Solutions.
It is not immediately clear why Caltagirone is aimed at and a representative for his portfolio company Caltagirone Spa did not respond to a request for comments.
Caltagirone’s portfolio company holds several businesses In various industries, including construction, real estate, funding and publication, which includes the Italian Il Messaggero newspaper.
Caltagirone becomes the first businessman to be added to the Paragon victim list in Italy. So far, other victims include journalists Francesco Cancellato and Ciro Pellegrino, who are working for online news fanpage sites. and Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia immigration activists who work for Mediterranean saving peopleAn Italian non -governmental organization that helps rescue immigrants to the Mediterranean Sea.
Kaltagirone’s alleged targeting is now expanding the continuing Spyware Paragon scandal in Italy to victims beyond journalists and activists. Following the reports of fanpage journalists targeted, Paragon cut ties with the Italian government, whose intelligence services were its clients.
Paragon, who has long claimed to be a “moral” manufacturer of Spyware, is based in Israel and was purchased by the US private giant AE Industrial in December 2024. In the context of the deal, Paragon reported it would be merged with Cybersecurity Redlattice.
When TechCrunch arrived in Paragon for comments in September on the company’s contract with US immigration and customs enforcement, a company spokesman reported questions to Redlattice Vice President Jennifer Ira, indicating that the merger may have been finalized.
Paragon and Whatsapp did not respond to a request for comments.
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