WIRED reported that Paragon CEO Andrew Boyd said the spyware company has no technical way to know whether customers misuse its software because, in his account to the magazine, Paragon cannot see who customers target or the data they extract from targeted devices.
In the same interview, WIRED reported that Boyd said Paragon does not have a kill switch to disable customers when misuse occurs. Instead, WIRED said Boyd described the company’s practical leverage as the ability to halt customers’ 24-hour support and system updates, which he said are frequent and essential to using the spyware and render the system ineffective in about 12 hours without them in WIRED’s account.
WIRED said the comments came in an exclusive interview and marked the first time a Paragon executive had spoken in detail about the company or its handling of the Italy affair.
Separate earlier reports described the alleged WhatsApp-linked targeting differently. In the same WIRED story, the magazine said WhatsApp alleged that Paragon’s Graphite spyware was used to infect the phones of more than 60 individuals in more than 20 countries, including journalists and activists. NBC News reported that a WhatsApp spokesperson said around 90 WhatsApp users across over two dozen countries were suspected targets, including journalists and members of civil society. Those accounts describe different counts and different claim status, not a single confirmed total.
