"Italian businessman’s phone reportedly targeted with Paragon spyware" 9 October 2025

Italian online investigative website IrpiMedia and newspaper La Stampa reported that Francesco Gaetano Caltagirone was among around 90 people who received a notification from WhatsApp in January, alerting him that he had been targeted with spyware made by Paragon Solutions. 

It’s not immediately clear for what reason Caltagirone was targeted, and a spokesperson for his holding company, Caltagirone SpA, did not respond to a request for comment.

Caltagirone’s namesake holding company owns several firms across different industries, including construction, real estate, finance, and publishing, which includes Italian newspaper Il Messaggero. 

Caltagirone becomes the first businessman to be added to the list of Paragon victims in Italy. So far, the other victims include journalists Francesco Cancellato and Ciro Pellegrino, who work for online news site Fanpage; and immigration activists Luca Casarini and Giuseppe Caccia, who work for Mediterranea Saving Humans, an Italian non-government organization that helps rescue immigrants in the Mediterranean sea...

...Paragon, which has long claimed to be an “ethical” spyware maker, is headquartered in Israel, and was bought by U.S. private equity giant AE Industrial in December 2024. As part of the deal, Paragon was reportedly going to merge with cybersecurity firm REDLattice...

...Paragon and WhatsApp did not respond to a request for comment...