One Meta official wey dey work for WhatsApp don talk say one Israeli spyware company wey dem dey call Paragon Solutions don target plenty WhatsApp users, including journalists and people wey dey civil society.

Di official talk on Friday say WhatsApp don send Paragon one cease-and-desist letter afta di hack. For one statement, WhatsApp talk say di company go continue to protect people right to dey communicate privately.

Paragon no gree talk anything about di mata.

Di WhatsApp official talk say dem detect say dem try hack about 90 users for di platform. E no gree talk di specific people wey dem target or di place wey dem dey, but e mention say di targets include some people for civil society and media.

E talk say WhatsApp don stop di hacking effort and dem don refer di targets go meet one Canadian internet watchdog group wey dem dey call Citizen Lab.

Di official no wan talk how dem take know say na Paragon dey behind di hack. E talk say dem don inform law enforcement and industry partners, but e no gree give more details.

Di FBI never respond to di message wey dem send to dem make dem talk about di mata.

Citizen Lab researcher, John Scott-Railton, talk say di discovery of Paragon spyware wey dey target WhatsApp users na reminder say dis mercenary spyware dey spread anyhow, and as e dey spread, di same wahala wey we dey see before dey happen again.

Spyware companies like Paragon dey sell high-end surveillance software give government clients, and dem dey usually talk say di software dey important to fight crime and protect national security.

But dis kind spy tools don dey show for di phones of journalists, activists, opposition politicians, and even at least 50 US officials, wey dey make people dey worry about how di technology dey spread anyhow.

Paragon — wey dem talk say one Florida-based investment group wey dem dey call AE Industrial Partners buy last month — dey try make people see dem as one responsible company for di industry.

Di company website dey advertise say dem dey provide "ethically based tools, teams, and insights to disrupt intractable threats", and media reports wey dey quote people wey sabi di company talk say Paragon dey only sell give governments wey dey stable democratic countries.

Natalia Krapiva, wey be senior tech-legal counsel for di advocacy group Access Now, talk say Paragon get di reputation of being better spyware company, "but WhatsApp recent revelations dey show say e no be so."

"Dis no be just matter of some bad apples — dis kain abuse na di way di commercial spyware industry dey operate."

AE never respond to di message wey dem send to dem make dem talk about di mata.