The Secrets of the US Spyware King

Allegations surfaced that Paragon’s Graphite commercial spyware was used to compromise over 60 individuals in more than 20 countries—including journalists and activists—prompting WhatsApp and Citizen Lab disclosures. Paragon (recently acquired and merged) canceled two Italian contracts after the exposure but did not perform an internal investigation; executives admit the company cannot see customer targets or extracted data, lacks a technical kill switch, and can only disable systems indirectly by withholding frequent updates that render the spyware ineffective after roughly 12 hours.