Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone
October 9, 2025
•[ spyware, espionage, government ]
Report that Graphite spyware was used to spy on the businessman; tool sold to governments.
Beppe Caccia
March 11, 2025
•[ spyware, targeted attack ]
Italian report described alleged surveillance using commercial spyware against a public figure.
Balkan Investigative Reporting Network Journalists
February 26, 2025
•[ spyware, phishing, targeted attack ]
Amnesty reported two Serbian journalists targeted with Pegasus spyware via one-click links.
Fanpage.it / Francesco Cancellato
January 31, 2025
•[ spyware, espionage, zero-click ]
Francesco Cancellato, editor-in-chief of Fanpage.it, was targeted with the Israeli-made Graphite spyware developed by Paragon Solutions, delivered via WhatsApp zero-click exploit. Citizen Lab and CPJ linked the campaign to a likely state client of Paragon, with political-espionage motives tied to Fanpages undercover investigation exposing neo-fascist youth elements within Italys ruling party. No confirmed infection or data exfiltration publicly reported.
At least one Russian industrial company
January 1, 2025
•[ phishing, spyware, data leak ]
Kaspersky-reported campaign uses phishing and a new spyware ('Batavia') to exfiltrate sensitive documents and system info from Russian industrial firms.
Italian Political Consultant, Francesco Nicodemo
January 1, 2025
•[ spyware, government surveillance, targeted attack ]
Italian political consultant Francesco Nicodemo, who has worked with centre-left politicians, revealed in November 2025 that he was notified by WhatsApp in January that his phone had been targeted with Paragon spyware. His case broadens an existing spyware scandal in Italy that has already affected journalists, activists and business leaders. Parliamentary committee COPASIR has acknowledged that Italian intelligence agencies used Paragon in some cases, but it is unclear who ordered surveillance on Nicodemo or whether his device was successfully infected, prompting calls from experts for greater transparency from both the government and the spyware vendor.
