A recent Atlantic Council study has revealed that the United States has become the leading investor in the commercial spyware industry, surpassing countries like Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
The study, which surveyed 561 entities across 46 countries from 1992 to 2024, identified 34 new spyware investors, bringing the total to 128, a notable increase from the 94 identified in the previous year. In 2024 alone, 20 new U.S.-based spyware investors were identified, raising the total number of American investors to 31.
The commercial spyware industry is known for enabling covert surveillance, posing significant risks to human rights and national security by targeting journalists, human rights defenders, politicians, and diplomats. The study’s findings highlight the growing concern surrounding the industry’s activities and the involvement of major financial players.
Within the EU Single Market and Switzerland, the study identified 31 investors, with Italy leading at 12, while Israel accounts for 26 investors. Major U.S. financial firms, including D.E. Shaw & Co., Millennium Management, Jane Street, and Ameriprise Financial, have reportedly channeled funds to Cognyte, an Israeli lawful-interception software provider implicated in human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and Indonesia, according to the Atlantic Council.
Further highlighting U.S. investment is the late 2024 acquisition of Israeli spyware vendor Paragon Solutions by AE Industrial Partners, a Florida-based private equity firm focused on national security. Paragon Solutions also drew attention when its one-year contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was reactivated after a pause, a development initially reported by WIRED in October 2024.
Civil society groups have expressed serious concerns regarding the reactivation of Paragon’s contract with ICE, labeling the Trump administration’s move as “extremely troubling” and emphasizing the exacerbation of civil liberties concerns arising from ICE’s expanded budget and authority.
Paragon has also faced scrutiny for alleged misconduct in Europe. WhatsApp reported that Italian journalists and civil society members were targeted using its technology. Additionally, an Italian parliamentary committee discovered that the government utilized Graphite spyware to surveil human rights defenders. Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto confirmed the targeting of an Italian journalist and identified potential Paragon customers in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Cyprus, Singapore, and Israel.
