Italy-Libya critic told he was target of Israeli spyware
A critic of the Italy-Libya migration pact has been told he was a target of an Israeli spyware software, according to the Guardian on January 3rd.
Husam El Gomati, a Sweden-based Libyan activist, has been a vocal critic of the dealings between Italy and Libya to reduce the levels of migration from the north African state into southern Europe.
Last week, El Gomati was alerted by Whatsapp, an encrypted messaging platform owned by Meta, that he had been targeted by military-grade spyware and had been “possibly compromised”, reported by the Guardian.
The spyware, according to Whatsapp, is believed to be made by Paragon Solutions, an Israel-based company founded by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak and recently bought by a US private equity firm.
It is believed the company has approximately 35 government clients for the expressed purpose of targeting possible criminals. The spyware allows the successful penetration of an individual’s phone, including being able to read encrypted messages on apps like Whatsapp.
This latest privacy invasion follows the Guardian’s story in late December where nearly 100 journalists and other members of civil society were targeting by spyware owned by Paragon Solutions.
In El Gomati’s case, the discovery of Israeli spyware was made shortly after he publicly declared he had gained access to documents from Libya about “illegal migration networks, their connection to detention centers, and alleged links between militia leaders in Tripoli and Zawia and Italian intelligence officers,” the Guardian reports.
The link between Italy and Libya has long been criticized, with renewed public interest following the Italian arrest of Osama Najim, also known as Almasri, who is the chief of Libya’s judicial police and is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as rape and murder.
However, following his arrest in Turin, the Libyan official was released and repatriated to Libya on an Italian state aircraft with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi saying “following the non validation of the arrest, … considering that the Libyan citizen … presented a profile of social dangerousness, … I adopted an expulsion order for reasons of state security,” reported by Maghrebi.
There appears to be mounting public pressure for further transparency of Italian-Libyan relations surrounding migration, particularly from international organizations like the ICC who have called for an explanation of Almasri’s release.
Yet, the increased use of spyware poses a new cybersecurity threat to those in opposition to government policy and suggests a move towards increasing levels of surveillance and privacy violations by the state.
The Guardian, Maghrebi
