ICE reactivates contract with previously banned spyware vendor

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has resumed doing business with a controversial hacking company that had been dropped for running afoul of a Biden-era executive order against dealings with unethical spyware vendors.

A public notice on a government contracting site dated Aug. 29 said that a previous $2 million contract with Paragon Solutions had been modified “to lift the stop work order” that was issued last year.

ICE spokespeople did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

The reversal alarmed critics of the increasingly harsh U.S. crackdown on immigrants, which has included incarceration before trial and deportations to third countries.

“ICE is already shredding due process and ruining lives in its rush to lock up kids, cooks and firefighters who pose no threat to anyone,” Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) wrote in an email, adding that he had asked ICE for a briefing. “I’m extremely concerned about how ICE will use Paragon’s spyware to further trample on the rights of Americans and anyone who Donald Trump labels as an enemy.”

Although it has held itself out as a more ethical version of NSO Group, the U.S.-banned maker of Pegasus phone spyware, Paragon drew criticism this year after traces of its powerful Graphite tool were found on the devices of Italian journalists, advocates for migrants, and associates of Pope Francis.

During a government inquiry that followed, Italian officials acknowledged responsibility for some but not all of the breaches. Paragon then said it had stopped working with Italian government agencies.

Paragon had previously won U.S. government contracts, including the 2024 contract with ICE, the front line agency for deporting unauthorized immigrants and those who have had their humanitarian parole voided by the administration.

After public reporting, that work was stopped pending a White House review of whether the deal violated a 2023 executive order against the U.S. using spyware that was being deployed irresponsibly elsewhere.

It is not clear why that pause has been ended in Paragon’s favor. The reactivation was first reported by newsletter All-Source Intelligence.

Previously based in Israel, Paragon was bought last year by an investment firm that also owns cyber intelligence company REDLattice, which has multiple ex-CIA officials as directors.

REDLattice did not respond to a request for comment. Paragon does not publish contact information.

The case is being closely watched as an indicator of the Trump administration’s view on spyware. The Biden administration led a worldwide effort to punish commercial vendors whose tools were widely used against innocent people.

“Paragon’s technology has been misused by other governments around the world to target human rights defenders and political dissidents alike,” said Michael De Dora, U.S. policy manager for digital rights group Access Now. “Americans should be deeply concerned about how the administration could use this new tool for the purposes of domestic repression, and the administration should be very careful too.”