ICE Re-ups Contract with Controversial Spyware Firm Paragon

ICE Revives Contract with Israeli Spyware Firm Paragon

Last year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered into an agreement with Paragon, an Israeli developer of spyware, valued at $2 million.

Following the contract’s signing, the Biden administration initiated a review process. A “stop work order” was issued to ascertain whether the agreement adhered to an executive order concerning commercial spyware.

This executive order aims to restrict U.S. governmental bodies from utilizing spyware that presents a risk of violating human rights or targeting American citizens internationally.

Contract Reinstatement

After nearly a year of review, and as the contract’s expiration approached, ICE rescinded the stop work order, as indicated by publicly accessible records.

An update posted on August 30th to the U.S. government’s Federal Procurement Data System – a comprehensive database of government contracts – stated: “This contract is for a fully configured proprietary solution including license, hardware, warranty, maintenance, and training. This modification is to lift the stop work order.”

The initial reporting on this development was made by independent journalist Jack Poulson in his newsletter.

Paragon’s Position in the Spyware Market

For several years, Paragon has actively promoted itself as an “ethical” and responsible provider of spyware. This positioning differentiates the company from other controversial spyware vendors like Hacking Team, Intellexa, and NSO Group.

Paragon asserts on its website that it equips its clientele with “ethically based tools, teams, and insights.”

The company now faces a significant ethical consideration. With the ICE Information Technology Division contract now active, Paragon must determine its continued involvement with an agency that has substantially increased deportations and broadened its surveillance capabilities.

Lack of Response from Paragon

Requests for comment from Emily Horne, a Paragon spokesperson, and John Fleming, the executive chairman, went unanswered.

Earlier this year, in February, Fleming conveyed to TechCrunch that the company limits its sales to the U.S. government and other unspecified allied nations, as a demonstration of good faith.

Past Ethical Concerns

Paragon has previously encountered an ethical challenge. In January, WhatsApp disclosed that approximately 90 of its users, including journalists and human rights advocates, were targeted using Paragon’s Graphite spyware.

Subsequently, Italian journalist Francesco Cancellato and several activists supporting immigration rights identified themselves as being among those targeted.

Responses to the WhatsApp Revelations

In response to this incident, Paragon severed its ties with the Italian government, which had initiated an investigation into the matter.

Further investigation by the digital rights research group Citizen Lab in June confirmed that two additional journalists – one European and a colleague of Cancellato – had been compromised by Paragon’s spyware.

An Italian parliamentary committee determined that the surveillance of pro-immigration activists was legally permissible. However, the committee found no evidence indicating that Italy’s intelligence agencies, previous Paragon customers, had targeted Cancellato.

Concerns About Spyware in Democracies

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab with over a decade of experience investigating spyware misuse, stated to TechCrunch that “these tools were designed for dictatorships, not democracies built on liberty and protection of individual rights.”

He emphasized that even the use of spyware is “corrupting,” leading to “a growing pile of spyware scandals in democracies, including with Paragon’s Graphite.”

Scott-Railton also pointed out that Paragon continues to protect those who abuse spyware, citing the unresolved hacking incidents involving Italian journalists.