Pierluigi Paganini
February 02, 2025
Meta announced that discovered and dismantled a malware campaign via WhatsApp that targeted journalists and civil society members with the Paragon spyware (aka Graphite).
The hacking campaign targeted 90 users and was disrupted in December, WhatsApp already alerted them of a possible compromise of their devices.
WhatsApp linked the hacking campaign to Paragon, an Israeli commercial surveillance vendor acquired by AE Industrial Partners for $900 million in December 2024.
Meta experts said threat actors used a “zero-click” exploit to compromise target devices without user interaction. WhatsApp did not disclose the locations of the targeted individuals.
WhatsApp sent Paragon a “cease and desist” letter and announced it was exploring the possibility to start a legal action.
“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 company spokesperson told The Guardian.
There are no official reports about the spyware campaign, but media reports that threat actors may have used a specially crafted PDF file as bait. The file was sent to target users after they were added to group chats.
John Scott-Railton of the research group Citizen Lab said they first analyzed the attacks shared findings with WhatsApp. Citizen Lab plans to release a detailed report later.
Paragon has been publicly linked to a hacking campaign for the first time, targeting journalists and civil society. Unlike other spyware vendors, like Intellexa and NSO Group, it was not involved in publicly investigated attacks. In 2024, its U.S. subsidiary signed a contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after proving its tech had controls to prevent misuse.
In December, WhatsApp won a legal case against NSO Group in a U.S. court over exploiting a vulnerability to deliver Pegasus spyware. Will Cathcart of WhatsApp called the ruling a major privacy victory, emphasizing accountability for spyware firms after a five-year legal battle.
Court documents state that on October 29, 2019, plaintiffs filed this lawsuit, alleging that the defendants used WhatsApp to target approximately 1,400 mobile phones and devices to infect them with the surveillance software.
“defendants’ relevant software products, collectively referred to as “Pegasus,” allow defendants’ clients to use a modified version of the Whatsapp application – referred to as the “Whatsapp Installation Server,” or “WIS. The WIS, among other things, allows defendants’ clients to send “cipher” files with “installation vectors” that ultimately allow the clients to surveil target users.” reads the court document. published “As mentioned above, plaintiffs allege that defendants’ conduct was a violation of the CFAA, the CDAFA, and a breach of contract.”
The U.S. court ruled that NSO Group repeatedly failed to produce key evidence, including Pegasus source code, and imposed sanctions, reserving harsher penalties for later.
WhatsApp stated NSO only provided AWS server code, not the full codebase. Judge Hamilton criticized NSO’s non-compliance, citing concerns about transparency.
The court found NSO Group liable for breaching WhatsApp’s terms of service by using the platform for malicious purposes. WhatsApp hailed the decision as a victory for privacy.
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(SecurityAffairs – hacking, Paragon spyware)
