WhatsApp told TechCrunch that it believed the hacking campaign happened in December, and that it sent a cease and desist letter to Paragon. Idan Nurick, the CEO of Paragon, did not respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn. AE Industrial did not respond to a request for comment.

WhatsApp says that civil society workers and journalists on its platform were the targets of hacks by the Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions.

WhatsApp says it disrupted a spyware campaign last month that targeted journalists and civil society members, according to reports from The Guardian and Reuters. The campaign originated from an Israeli spyware company called Paragon Solutions and impacted around 90 users.

Meta Platforms Inc.’s WhatsApp messenger service said it disrupted a hacking campaign linked to Israeli spyware firm Paragon.

An official with Meta's popular WhatsApp chat service said the Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society.

WASHINGTON >> An official with Meta Platforms’ popular WhatsApp chat service said Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions had targeted scores of its users, including journalists and members of civil society.