Allied Intelligence — 2026-04-29

Paragon Refuses to Cooperate with Italian Prosecutors in Spyware Investigation

Israeli spyware firm Paragon Solutions has not responded to Italian prosecutors' formal requests for information about Graphite spyware attacks against journalists and activists, according to a Wired Italia investigation drawing on FOIA requests and qualified sources. Italian magistrates sent international letters rogatory through the Israeli government more than a year ago, but Paragon has provided no technical data on the infections discovered on three phones belonging to journalist Francesco Cancellato and activists Giuseppe Caccia and Luca Casarini. Prosecutors in Rome and Naples face structural jurisdiction barriers, as Paragon holds no Italian legal entity and Israel's defense ministry has cleared the firm of export-license violations in five separate audits.

Analysis
Paragon's silence in response to Italian letters rogatory, sent more than a year ago through Israeli government channels, reflects a deliberate posture to limit evidentiary exposure rather than an administrative failure, per Wired Italia's FOIA-backed investigation. Italian prosecutors face hard structural limits: Paragon holds no Italian legal entity subject to compelled disclosure, and MLAT channels with Israel would extend enforcement timelines well beyond six months. Formal proceedings against Paragon or its executives within that window are unlikely. The non-cooperation may be driven less by Paragon's own liability than by the need to shield other government clients whose identities, if disclosed, would damage commercial relationships across multiple markets.

2 sources

Paragon is not collaborating with Italian authorities probing spyware attacks, report says - TechCrunch
Paragon spyware: ancora nessuna risposta alle indagini italiane - Wired Italia