This marks the second known case of Greeks being monitored through spyware, following the revelation that Intellexa had carried out surveillance in Greece using Predator between 2020 and 2022.
The disclosure came through an official statement from the Italian government, which confirmed that a spyware surveillance campaign using Graphite had been uncovered by WhatsApp in recent days. The campaign reportedly targeted individuals across multiple European countries, raising serious concerns about unauthorized surveillance operations.
The government of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni denied any involvement in the surveillance of Italian citizens. Among those allegedly targeted were Francesco Cancellato, the editor-in-chief of the news website Fanpage.it, and Luca Casarini, an activist with the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans, which provides assistance to migrants. In its statement, the Italian government emphasized that it had not placed journalists or any other protected individuals under surveillance, referencing legislation that safeguards intelligence and privacy matters.
Given the gravity of the issue, Italy’s National Cybersecurity Agency (Agenzia per la Cybersicurezza Nazionale - ACN) was immediately engaged and made contact with WhatsApp and its legal representatives, Advant. According to the agency, WhatsApp confirmed that at least seven mobile phone users in Italy had been affected by the spyware campaign. However, citing privacy concerns, the company declined to disclose their identities, stating that the affected individuals had been directly informed.
Further information from the Italian cybersecurity agency indicated that the surveillance was not limited to Italy. Based on country dialing codes, the spyware also targeted mobile users in Greece, Cyprus, Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden. This suggests that the Graphite spyware campaign had a significant reach across the European Union.
The Italian government confirmed that WhatsApp Ireland Limited, the European subsidiary of Meta, was at the center of the disclosure. Given its role in overseeing WhatsApp’s European operations, it was in a position to identify and report the extent of the surveillance. The government reaffirmed its commitment to transparency, stating that it was prepared to brief Italy’s Parliamentary Oversight Committee on Intelligence Services (Copasir) on any intelligence-related matters concerning the use of such spyware.
