These special phone and app features can help protect you from spyware
Spyware attacks targeting journalists and activists have become increasingly common, with recent incidents involving Israeli spyware. Tech companies like Apple, Google, and Meta are now offering features to help users protect themselves from such threats. While no security measure is foolproof, these tools are recommended for anyone concerned about government surveillance.
- ▪In early 2025, WhatsApp notified around 90 users, including journalists, of targeted spyware attacks by Paragon Solutions.
- ▪Spyware can provide operators with full access to a target's device, allowing them to record calls, steal messages, and track locations.
- ▪Tech giants are implementing opt-in features to enhance user security against spyware, which can be easily enabled or disabled.
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Spyware attacks on journalists, human rights defenders, and political dissidents are no longer rare or exotic. In early 2025, WhatsApp notified roughly 90 users — many of them journalists and civil society members across Europe — that they had been targeted by Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions. Months later, Apple sent threat notifications to a new group of iOS users; forensic analysis confirmed two of them, both journalists, had been hit with Paragon’s Graphite spyware using a zero-click attack, meaning they didn’t even have to tap a link to be compromised. These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re the norm.
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Excerpt limited to ~120 words for fair-use compliance. The full article is at TechCrunch.
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