Allied Intelligence — 2026-04-26
Italian Lawful Intercept Firm IPS Exposed for Deploying Morpheus Spyware via Fake Android Apps
Italian digital rights group Osservatorio Nessuno published a report documenting that IPS, a surveillance firm serving Italian police and intelligence for 30 years, deployed Morpheus spyware disguised as Android updates to hijack WhatsApp accounts and extract device data. The report alleges some targets included political activists.
Analysis
IPS's 30-year relationship with Italian police and intelligence services makes the Morpheus exposure a counterintelligence concern beyond the immediate spyware question, as any compromise of IPS infrastructure or source code would give an adversary visibility into Italian law enforcement surveillance targets and methods. The disguised Android updates and WhatsApp hijacking closely mirror techniques attributed to Intellexa Predator and NSO Pegasus, suggesting a shared technical ecosystem among European-adjacent spyware vendors that regulatory efforts have failed to contain. Italian institutional defaults under the Meloni government suggest a Greek Predator-style delayed response rather than the rapid Spanish Pegasus investigation model.
IPS's 30-year relationship with Italian police and intelligence services makes the Morpheus exposure a counterintelligence concern beyond the immediate spyware question, as any compromise of IPS infrastructure or source code would give an adversary visibility into Italian law enforcement surveillance targets and methods. The disguised Android updates and WhatsApp hijacking closely mirror techniques attributed to Intellexa Predator and NSO Pegasus, suggesting a shared technical ecosystem among European-adjacent spyware vendors that regulatory efforts have failed to contain. Italian institutional defaults under the Meloni government suggest a Greek Predator-style delayed response rather than the rapid Spanish Pegasus investigation model.