In a press release, Mediterranea said WhatsApp notified its founder Luca Casarini last week that he had been targeted with spyware made by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli surveillance tech startup. On Friday, WhatsApp said it had disrupted an espionage campaign using Paragon spyware that targeted around 90 people.

Italy's government said on Wednesday that seven mobile phone users in the country had been targeted by spyware on Meta Platforms' WhatsApp messaging service, and it called the incident "particularly serious".

A spyware attack linked to Paragon Solutions has affected WhatsApp users in over two dozen countries, including Italy. Targeting journalists and activists, the government is investigating the incident,

WhatsApp said users in several European countries were targeted with Paragon spyware, according to the Italian government.

WhatsApp has disrupted a spyware campaign last month that targeted journalists and civil society members, the company announced on Friday. The campaign originated from an Israeli spyware company called Paragon Solutions and impacted around 90 users.

Mobile phone users across several countries in Europe, including Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, also targeted, Italian government reveals - Anadolu Ajansı

Paragon spyware uncovered in PDF files sent to journalists and members of civil society, with WhatsApp issuing a cease-and-desist against the company.

An official with Meta Platforms' popular WhatsApp chat service said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society.