The US immigration agency, Ice, has recently gained access to one of the world's most advanced hacking tools, specifically designed to infiltrate mobile phones, including encrypted applications. This powerful stealth cyber-weapon, called Graphite, was produced by Paragon Solutions, an Israeli company now owned by a US firm.

The Power of Graphite

Graphite is capable of taking control of any phone, allowing its user to track an individual's whereabouts, read their messages, view photographs, and even access information stored on encrypted apps like WhatsApp or Signal. This spyware can also be used as a listening device, manipulating the phone's recorder.

Executive Order and Guardrails

In 2024, the Biden administration signed an executive order aimed at establishing guardrails around the US government's use of spyware. The order emphasized that the US shall not operationalize commercial spyware posing significant counterintelligence or security risks to the government or improper use by foreign governments. Additionally, the administration placed NSO Group, a rival spyware maker, on a commerce department blacklist for knowingly supplying foreign governments to maliciously target phones.

Paragon's Stance

Paragon has differentiated itself from NSO Group by claiming it only does business with democracies and has a no-tolerance policy for government clients using the spyware to target members of civil society. However, the company refuses to disclose its clients and has no insight into how they use the technology against targets.

Expert Concerns

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, expressed concerns that these tools were designed for dictatorships, not democracies built on liberty and protection of individual rights. He emphasized that invasive, secret hacking power is corrupting and has been linked to spyware scandals in democracies.

US Government Concerns

The US government has historically resisted using spyware technology made outside the US due to concerns about potential security risks. As Scott-Railton noted, "As long as the same mercenary spyware tech is going to multiple governments, there is a baked-in counterintelligence risk."

Call for Action

Nadine Farid Johnson, policy director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, urged Congress to limit the circumstances in which spyware like Graphite can be deployed. She emphasized that "Spyware poses a profound threat to free speech and privacy" and has already been used against journalists, human rights advocates, and political dissidents around the world.

Target Keyword: app user experience