Journalists in Europe were attacked with phone hacking software

Today, journalists, human rights defenders, and political activists are increasingly facing attacks carried out through surveillance software. This was reported by Zamin.uz.

At the beginning of 2025, WhatsApp officially warned that nearly 90 users across Europe had been targeted by Israel’s Paragon Solutions company. Shortly after, Apple sent alerts to users of its devices about potential threats they might be facing.

Investigations by specialists revealed that two journalists had their phones remotely compromised using spyware called Graphite. This attack was carried out without requiring any action from the user, such as clicking on a suspicious link.

Over the past fifteen years, cybersecurity researchers have documented numerous successful attacks carried out by state-level hackers. These operations rely on extremely expensive and complex technologies that enable covert access to smartphones, which store vast amounts of personal data related to everyday life.

Such spyware grants the operator full access to all data on the device, the ability to record phone calls, alter personal messages, remotely activate the camera and microphone, and track the user’s location in real time.

In response to these serious threats, major technology corporations such as Apple, Google, and Meta have implemented enhanced protection systems for their users.

Specifically, these companies recommend using special security features designed to defend against targeted attacks. While these functions may slightly limit some ordinary capabilities of the device, the level of security they provide far outweighs these minor inconveniences.

Experts in the field strongly advise activating these protective measures if you believe you could be under surveillance due to your professional activities.

It is important to remember that no security measure is absolutely perfect, and the developers of spyware are constantly searching for new vulnerabilities.

However, this does not mean that existing protections should be ignored. On the contrary, these features have proven their effectiveness in practice today.

As security experts emphasize, these protection systems are free to use, easy to configure, and serve as the most reliable defense against sophisticated spyware. If they interfere with your daily tasks, they can be easily disabled at any time.