> INTRODUCTION: THANKS, SNOWDEN. GREAT JOB._

Let's go back to 2013. Edward Snowden, that idealistic nerd, decides to spill the beans on the NSA. "They're spying on everyone!" he shouts. "The fiber optic cables are compromised!"

The world panics. The reaction? Encryption everywhere. WhatsApp, Apple, Google start encrypting everything "End-to-End" (E2EE).

You thought you were safe, didn't you? Poor fool.

The spies have a problem: it's called "Going Dark". They can't see data while it travels anymore. Your messages are armored.

So, what do they do? Give up? HA! Of course not.

If they can't read the message while it travels, they have to hack the phone before you send it. Thus was born the Commercial Surveillance Vendors (CSV) market. They don't decrypt, they hack. Your phone becomes the spy you carry in your pocket.

> CHAPTER 1: THE PIONEERS (AND THE CLOWNS) - HACKING TEAM_

Before the Israelis came in to get serious, there were the Italians. Hacking Team, from Milan with fury.

They sold "RCS Galileo". Archaic stuff. To infect you, you had to be stupid enough to click on a link or open an attachment. It's called Phishing, and it's the natural selection of the digital world.

They sold to everyone: Sudan, Saudi Arabia... "Technology is neutral," they said. Yeah, like a loaded gun left at a kindergarten.

KARMA IN 2015

KARMA IN 2015

In 2015, Hacking Team gets... hacked. 400GB of data splattered online. We saw everything: they were selling to dictators to crush dissidents, not criminals. Hacking Team collapses, leaving a void.

Who fills it? Someone much worse.

> CHAPTER 2: THE LORDS OF THE APOCALYPSE - NSO GROUP_

From the European ashes rises Israel. NSO Group. Founded by ex-spies from Unit 8200 (the elite of Israeli intelligence).

Their monster is called PEGASUS.

Forget links. Pegasus is Zero-Click.

You get a message on WhatsApp? You don't even have to open it. A missed call? It's already inside.

They have "root" privileges (they're God on your phone) before you can even say "privacy".

Israel used NSO as a diplomatic bouquet. Want to be friends with Israel? Here, buy some spyware to oppress your enemies. It worked great, until the Pegasus Project exploded in 2021. 50,000 numbers spied on: Macron, journalists, activists.

Result? NSO ends up on the USA "Entity List" (the bad guys list). No more Amazon servers for them.

> CHAPTER 3: THE ALLIANCE OF EVIL - INTELLEXA_

While NSO was sinking, another ex-spy, Tal Dilian, sly as a fox, escapes to Europe (Cyprus and Greece). He founds the Intellexa Alliance. A spying supermarket.

Their toy? PREDATOR.

Less expensive than Pegasus, but does the same dirty job. It exploited holes in Chrome and Android.

The genius part? They were everywhere. Headquarters in Ireland, Greece, Macedonia... If one country blocked exports, they used another.

THE GREEK DISASTER

They went too far. They spied on Greek journalists and politicians. "Predatorgate" scandal. In 2024, the USA got fed up and sanctioned Tal Dilian and his friends directly. Frozen accounts. Game over? Maybe.

> CHAPTER 4: PARAGON - THE "GOOD GUYS" (ACCORDING TO THEM)_

In 2019 Paragon Solutions arrives.

Their marketing strategy? "We're the good guys. We only sell to NATO countries and democracies. No smelly dictators".

The Americans like this story. They invest millions.

Their product: GRAPHITE.

They say it extracts data from the Cloud (iCloud, Google Drive). But guess what? Citizen Lab discovered they also use Zero-Click exploits on iMessage. They're as lethal as the others, they just have better PR.

THE AMERICAN PURCHASE

Between 2024 and 2025, an American company (AE Industrial Partners) buys Paragon. Now they're officially "American stuff".

> CHAPTER 5: AMERICAN HYPOCRISY_

Here we laugh.

Biden makes an executive order: "Ban on using bad spyware!"

Then ICE (those who manage US immigration) signs a secret contract with Paragon.

"But didn't you say banned?"

"Well, but now Paragon is American, so it's fine!"

Now ICE can hack phones remotely. Imagine what they'll do with migrants and activists at the border. Chills, right?

> CHAPTER 6: THE ITALIAN DISASTER (WORLDWIDE EMBARRASSMENT)_

Paragon said: "Democracies don't abuse spyware".

Italy: "Hold my beer".

THE FANPAGE.IT SCANDAL

In 2025 we discover that Graphite was used to hack Fanpage.it journalists (those of the "Meloni Youth" investigation).

Apple and WhatsApp send the warning: "Hey, a state is hacking you".

Italian intelligence had contracts with Paragon. The government denies, then it turns out they had authorized use on "activists". A mess.

Paragon, to save face with the Americans, what does it do? Dumps Italy. Terminates the contract.

"Sorry Italy, you're making us look bad to our American masters". What humiliation.

> CHAPTER 7: CANDIRU AND THE GHOSTS_

While everyone's fighting, there's Candiru (yes, like the fish that enters your urethra, look it up on Google if you dare).

They're ghosts. No website.

Their spyware DevilsTongue also breaches Windows.

After the sanctions, they've changed names a thousand times (Saito Tech, Integrity Labs). They keep working in the shadows for those who can't afford Paragon.

> CONCLUSION_

YOU'RE ALONE, YOU'RE NAKED, YOU'RE DATA.

Encryption didn't save you. It just made spying more expensive and meaner.

The market split:

• The "Legal" ones:(Paragon) Used by USA and NATO to spy on you "democratically".
• The Mercenaries:(Intellexa, Candiru) Used by everyone else to spy on you "illegally".

The result for you? IT'S THE SAME.

Your phone is a microphone. Your camera is an eye. And there's nothing you can do, unless you throw everything away and go live in a cave. (Spoiler: they'd find you with drones).

Good night and good luck.

> SOURCES (Because even the bad guys cite sources)_

The information comes from technical documents and investigative reports. If you don't believe me, click here and cry: