WhatsApp says Italian surveillance company tricked around 200 users into downloading spyware

Messaging service WhatsApp said an Italian ​surveillance company tricked some 200 users ‌into downloading a bogus version ​of its popular app ⁠that was rigged to spy on its victims.

In a statement, the Meta Platforms-owned ‌service said the campaign was carried out by ASIGINT, ‌a subsidiary of northern Italy-based ‌SIO, ⁠whose website boasts of “high-performance, field-proven ⁠cyber intelligence solutions and technology.”

WhatsApp said the campaign was “highly targeted” and relied on deception ​to get victims ‌to install “malicious software that impersonated WhatsApp.” It did not identify the victims beyond saying they were “primarily” in ‌Italy.

SIO, which says on ​its website that it partners with “Law Enforcement Agencies, Government Organizations, ⁠Police and Intelligence Agencies,” did not immediately return a message seeking comment. ‌Italy’s interior ministry referred questions to police, who did not immediately return a message.

This is the second time in 15 months that Meta has publicly disrupted ‌spyware activity in Italy, which is ​still dealing with the fallout from the exposure in early ⁠2025 of a surveillance operation carried out ⁠using spyware from the U.S.-owned firm Paragon. Italy and Paragon ‌have since parted ways.