Citizen Lab and WIRED detail oversight limits at spyware firm Paragon Solutions
Researchers and company leadership have disclosed that mobile spyware vendor Paragon Solutions lacks mechanisms to detect customer abuse or remotely disable its surveillance software.
FTMQ Security, written by our newsroom0 views
Spyware firm Paragon Solutions lacks the technical ability to determine if client governments misuse its products and does not possess a kill switch to disable the software, according to a report by Citizen Lab detailing an interview between WIRED and Paragon Chief Executive Officer Andrew Boyd. [1]
Paragon Solutions had previously pledged that it would not sell its mobile spyware to governments with poor human rights records and promised to disconnect clients that abused the technology. However, Citizen Lab researchers confirmed in 2025 that the company's spyware was used to target Italian journalists and activists. [1]
Senior researcher John Scott-Railton told WIRED that there is a severe lack of oversight surrounding Paragon Solutions. Commercial mobile spyware products, such as NSO Group's Pegasus software, are designed to be covertly installed on mobile devices running iOS and Android, and are frequently used by governments to surveil political dissidents, lawyers, and journalists. [1][2]
In short
- Paragon Solutions Chief Executive Officer Andrew Boyd admitted the firm has no kill switch to disable its spyware.
- Citizen Lab confirmed in 2025 that Paragon spyware was used to target activists and journalists in Italy.
- Paragon Solutions has no mechanism to determine if client governments are misusing its surveillance software.
Sources
Every paragraph above points to the numbered items it rests on. Read the originals here.
- [1]The Secrets of a US Spyware KingCitizen Lab, 2d ago (the report this story comes from)
Background
- [2]Pegasus (spyware) on Wikipedia
- [3]Secrecy on Wikipedia
Our newsroom writes these reports with the help of software, from the 3 sources listed and nothing else, and checks them against those sources. Facts can still be wrong or move on; the originals are the record. Spotted a mistake? Write to daniel@monsterkong.com.
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