Israeli Spyware 'Graphite' Exposed After LinkedIn Security Breach
The Israeli surveillance software company Paragon Solutions accidentally exposed the secret control panel of its 'Graphite' spyware tool on LinkedIn before deleting it. The tool targets encrypted communications and has reportedly been used to surveil journalists and civil society activists.
What happened
Paragon Solutions, an Israeli surveillance company founded in 2019, unintentionally exposed the secret control dashboard for its 'Graphite' surveillance tool on LinkedIn. Security researcher Yore van Berghen discovered on 11 February a screenshot posted by the company's general legal counsel showing the dashboard before it was quickly deleted.
The screenshot displayed a monitoring interface containing a Czech phone number under the name 'Valentina' and interfaces for monitoring encrypted applications including WhatsApp through zero-click vulnerabilities. Graphite is marketed as advanced surveillance software enabling remote access to mobile phones and classified as 'spyware-for-hire' capable of breaching devices without user interaction and extracting messages and stored data.
Reported impact
In early 2025, WhatsApp accused Paragon Solutions of targeting 90 journalists and civil society figures using zero-click vulnerabilities. Research analyses indicate Paragon's client list includes governments in Australia, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Israel and Singapore.
Index analysis
The incident highlights operational security risks in an industry based on secrecy. While Paragon affirms it sells technologies only to vetted governments, incidents such as WhatsApp breaches and the LinkedIn security lapse weaken this narrative and deepen concerns about its practices.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.