Spyware Acquired by ICE (Sept 22, 2025)

The summary below was created by AI - for more informaiton and steps you can take to protect your data, see the following article . https://www.kqed.org/news/12055606/how-ice-is-using-your-data-and-what-you-can-do-about-it

In September 2025, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activated a previously frozen $2 million contract with Paragon Solutions, an Israeli-founded spyware company, for its "Graphite" surveillance technology. The decision to proceed with the contract, which was originally signed in late 2024, has drawn heavy criticism from human rights and privacy advocates. 

Details of the contract and technology

• Original contract: The $2 million contract was initially signed in late September 2024 for Paragon's Graphite spyware.

• Technology: Graphite is an advanced surveillance tool that can infiltrate smartphones, bypass encrypted messaging apps like WhatsApp and Signal, and extract a user's messages, photos, and location data. It can also covertly activate a device's microphone.

• Initial suspension: Shortly after the contract was announced in 2024, the Biden administration issued a "stop work order" to review the deal. The review was meant to ensure the contract complied with a 2023 executive order that limited the use of commercial spyware if it posed counterintelligence risks or had been misused to suppress human rights.

• Controversy abroad: The review was prompted by reports that Paragon's technology had been used by the Italian government to spy on journalists and activists.

• Activation of the contract: The suspension was lifted in late August 2025 following Paragon's acquisition by a U.S.-based private equity firm, AE Industrial Partners. The acquisition allowed the company to be reclassified as a domestic vendor, effectively circumventing the Biden administration's executive order on foreign spyware. 

Concerns and criticism

The activation of the contract has raised alarms among civil liberties advocates, who cite the history of spyware abuse and voice concerns about its potential use in domestic immigration enforcement. 

• Human rights groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and the Knight First Amendment Institute have criticized the move, warning that spyware like Graphite poses a threat to free speech and privacy.

• The EFF noted that the maneuver to reclassify Paragon as a domestic company "ignores the spirit of the rule and does not actually do anything to prevent misuse".

• Lawmakers and organizations have also expressed concern that ICE will use the tool against immigrants, potentially violating their due process rights.

• The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) sent a coalition letter to the Department of Homeland Security in October 2024 urging officials to end the contract.