Data protection authority

Paragon spyware: few victims in Austria

According to the Italian government, telephone numbers from 14 countries in the EU alone are affected.

(Bild: stock.adobe.com/Miquel)

According to the data protection authority, the number of Austrian victims of the Paragon spying software is likely to be "in the low single-digit range". According to the Ministry of the Interior, the attack on dozens of users of the WhatsApp messenger service in numerous countries is already known to the Austrian constitutional authorities.

A confirmed number of Austrian victims is not yet known, but it is currently assumed to be "in the low single-digit range", according to the data protection authority. Nothing is yet known about who ordered the cyber attack either.

The investigations would therefore be carried out in accordance with EU law in a cooperation procedure between the data protection authorities, led by the Irish supervisory authority. The WhatsApp branch responsible for the EU is located in Ireland.

According to the Italian government, which recently announced details of the attack, telephone numbers from 14 countries in the EU alone are affected.

The Directorate of State Security and Intelligence is taking action against cyber attacks "in accordance with the legal mandate and with the means available by law", the Ministry of the Interior emphasized in its statement. However, it is not yet possible to provide more detailed information on the specific incident.

Journalists and activists spied on with "Graphite" software
The US tech company Meta, owner of WhatsApp, announced the cyber attack on 90 users from "around two dozen countries" at the end of January. After the attack was discovered, a cease-and-desist letter was immediately sent to the manufacturer Paragon Solutions. It later became known that the "Graphite" software had been used to spy on journalists and activists in Europe, for example.

Paragon Solutions, which was founded in Israel and is now owned by the US, produces surveillance software for state actors. However, the company only works with democratic states and the user agreements do not allow spying without a legal basis, the company stated.