Finance
WhatsApp Says Italian Surveillance Company Tricked Around 200 Users Into Downloading Spyware
Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on April 1, 2026
2 min readLast updated: April 1, 2026
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WhatsApp says the Italian surveillance firm ASIGINT, part of SIO, duped roughly 200 primarily Italian users into installing fake versions of WhatsApp rigged to spy on them. This follows a previous Italian spyware scandal involving Paragon’s Graphite affecting journalists and activists.
WhatsApp Exposes Italian Surveillance Campaign Targeting Users with Spyware
WhatsApp Uncovers Sophisticated Spyware Attack in Italy
By Raphael Satter
Details of the Surveillance Campaign
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - 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.
ASIGINT and SIO's Role in the Attack
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."
Targeting Methods and Victim Profile
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.
Responses from Involved Parties
SIO, which says on its website that it partners with "Law Enforcement Agencies, Government Organizations, Police and Intelligence Agencies," did not immediately return a message seeking comment. Italy's interior ministry referred questions to police, who did not immediately return a message.
Previous Spyware Incidents in Italy
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.
(Reporting by Raphael Satter, Additional reporting by Alvise Armellini in Rome, Editing by Chris Reese)
Key Takeaways
- •WhatsApp revealed that ASIGINT, a subsidiary of Italy’s SIO, covertly deployed spyware by tricking around 200 users—mainly in Italy—into installing a malicious impersonation of WhatsApp; the spyware was designed for surveillance purposes. (asigint.it)
- •This marks the second major spyware incident in Italy in 15 months, following the Paragon Graphite campaign in early 2025, which targeted about 90 journalists and activists and led Italy to sever ties with Paragon amid public backlash. (theguardian.com)
- •Paragon’s spyware scandal prompted investigations by Citizen Lab and Italian authorities, and contributed to a decline in Italy’s press freedom ranking, signaling renewed concerns over misuse of commercial spyware in democratic nations. (theguardian.com)
References
Frequently Asked Questions about WhatsApp says Italian surveillance company tricked around 200 users into downloading spyware
1Who carried out the spyware attack on WhatsApp users?
The attack was carried out by ASIGINT, a subsidiary of Italy-based SIO, which provides cyber intelligence solutions.
2How many WhatsApp users were affected by the spyware campaign?
Approximately 200 WhatsApp users were tricked into downloading the malicious app.
3Where were the majority of targeted WhatsApp users located?
The victims were primarily based in Italy.
4How did the attackers trick WhatsApp users into downloading the spyware?
Attackers used deception to get victims to install a fake WhatsApp app embedded with malicious software.
5Has Meta previously disrupted spyware activity in Italy?
Yes, this is the second time in 15 months that Meta has publicly disrupted spyware operations in Italy.
