Israeli spyware may have been used by Ontario police, report alleges
Global News
The report from Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said researchers traced the IP address of a Paragon Solutions client to the OPP's general headquarters.
Researchers behind a new report into an Israeli spyware program used to monitor civil society members say they have found “possible links” between the controversial technology and Ontario Provincial Police (OPP), suggesting it may have been used in investigations — an allegation the force doesn’t deny.
The report from Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto released this week said researchers traced the IP address of a Canadian-based customer of Paragon Solutions to the address of the OPP’s general headquarters in Toronto.
Paragon sells the military-grade spyware program “Graphite” to government clients for national security purposes, but the tool has been found on the phones of journalists, activists and other civil society members in countries around the world in recent years, using communication apps like WhatsApp.
“We’ve also uncovered court records that point to a growing ecosystem of spyware capability among police services in Ontario,” Kate Robertson, a senior researcher at Citizen Lab and a co-author of the report, told Global News.
“What these findings show is that there is a widening gap in public awareness about the extent to which spyware technology is being used in Canada.”
Researchers tracing servers connected to Paragon’s Graphite tool found additional suspected deployments at four other Ontario addresses, including a shared warehouse, a strip mall, a brewery and an apartment.
An OPP spokesperson declined to confirm if it has contracted Paragon for investigative purposes but also didn’t deny the report’s findings in a statement to Global News.
“The Ontario Provincial Police is mandated to maintain public safety and to prevent or investigate crime while respecting the rights and privileges of citizens and visitors to Canada,” Acting Staff Sgt. Jeffrey Del Guidice said, adding the interception of private communications “is only used to advance serious criminal investigations” and requires judicial authorization.
