Italian communications executive reveals he was targeted with Paragon spyware

A prominent Italian communications executive and political adviser has revealed that he was targeted with Paragon spyware, making him the fifth Italian to come forward in a scandal that has rocked the Italian government.

Francesco Nicodemo is one of 90 victims to have been notified by WhatsApp of evidence that they were targeted with Paragon’s Graphite spyware, according to digital forensic researcher John Scott-Railton, who has spoken with Nicodemo about the targeting.

Nicodemo has a long history of advising political candidates on communications matters, and his company worked on thirteen election campaigns in 2024 alone, according to the Italian news outlet Fanpage, which first reported the news.

The government of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has acknowledged that it used Paragon to attempt to spy on some of the five known Italian victims, but has denied involvement in the targeting of two Fanpage journalists who came forward about the infections. Fanpage published an expose in June 2024 revealing ties between Meloni and young fascists.

“While the Italian authorities acknowledged some of the cases, the pile of unexplained Paragon Graphite spyware cases is growing,” Scott-Railton said. “The theme of politics and elections getting targeted continues.”