Last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) signed a contract with the Israeli spyware maker Paragon worth $2 million. Shortly after, the Biden administration issued a stop work order and put the contract under review. This was to determine whether the contract complied with an executive order on commercial spyware, which restricts U.S. government agencies from using spyware that could violate human rights or target Americans abroad.
Almost a year later, when it appeared the contract would expire without becoming active, ICE lifted the stop work order according to public records. An update dated August 30 on the U.S. government’s Federal Procurement Data System stated the contract is for a fully configured proprietary solution including license, hardware, warranty, maintenance, and training. The modification was made specifically to lift the stop work order. Independent journalist Jack Poulson was the first to report this news.
Paragon has for years cultivated an image of being an ethical and responsible spyware maker, in contrast with controversial competitors like Hacking Team, Intellexa, and NSO Group. On its official website, Paragon claims to provide its customers with ethically based tools, teams, and insights.
The spyware maker now faces an ethical dilemma. With the contract for ICE’s Information Technology Division active, Paragon must decide whether to continue its relationship with an agency that has dramatically ramped up mass deportations and expanded its surveillance powers.
Paragon has already faced a thorny ethical situation. In January, WhatsApp revealed that around 90 of its users, including journalists and human rights workers, had been targeted with Paragon’s Graphite spyware. In the following weeks, Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato and several local pro-immigration activists came forward saying they were among the victims. In response, Paragon cut ties with the Italian government, which had launched an inquiry into the incident.
Then, in June, the digital rights research group Citizen Lab confirmed that two other journalists, an unnamed European and a colleague of Cancellato, had been hacked with Paragon’s spyware. An Italian parliamentary committee concluded that the spying on the pro-immigration activists was legal, but also claimed there was no evidence that Italy’s intelligence agencies had targeted the journalist.
John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab, stated that these tools were designed for dictatorships, not democracies built on liberty and protection of individual rights. He noted that spyware is corrupting, which is why there is a growing pile of spyware scandals in democracies, including with Paragon’s Graphite. He added that Paragon is still shielding spyware abusers, pointing to the still-unexplained hacks of Italian journalists.