WhatsApp flags Italian company in spyware attack on 200 users

Messaging service WhatsApp said an Italian surveillance company tricked some 200 ​users into downloading a bogus version of ‌its popular app that was rigged to spy on its victims.

In a statement, the Meta Platforms-owned service ​said the campaign was carried out by ​ASIGINT, a subsidiary of northern Italy-based SIO, ⁠whose website boasts of “high-performance, field-proven cyber intelligence solutions ​and technology.”

WhatsApp said the campaign was “highly targeted” and ​relied on deception to get victims to install “malicious software that impersonated WhatsApp.” It did not identify the victims ​beyond saying they were “primarily” in Italy.

SIO, which ​says on its website that it partners with “Law Enforcement Agencies, ‌Government ⁠Organizations, Police and Intelligence Agencies.” Italy’s interior ministry referred questions to police, who did not ​immediately return a ​message.

This ⁠is the second time in 15 months that Meta has publicly disrupted ​spyware activity in Italy, which is ​still dealing ⁠with the fallout from the exposure in early 2025 of a surveillance operation carried out using spyware from ⁠the ​U.S.-owned firm Paragon. Italy ​and Paragon have since parted ways. Reuters