Govt 'has already provided all Paragon declassified info'

(ANSA) - ROME, FEB 18 - Cabinet Undersecretary Alfredo Mantovano told Lower House Speaker Lorenzo Fontana in a letter on Tuesday that the government has already made public all declassified information over the 'Graphite' military-grade hacking software of Israeli company Paragon Solutions.
    The letter said the Paragon case was discussed by Parliament's COPASIR security committee, which oversees Italy's intelligence agencies, and the Minister for Relations with Parliament Luca Ciriani had provided to lawmakers "the only information that could be divulged to the public" during a question time session at the Lower House on February 12.
    Every other aspect of the case is classified and can only be discussed by the government within COPASIR, the letter said.
    Last week, Ciriani denied reports that Paragon Solutions had terminated its client relationship with Italy amid a furore over the alleged illegal use of its hacking software to spy on journalists and activists in many countries, including Italy.
    "Like all intelligence agencies in the world, the Italian services have for many years made use of tools such as those produced and supplied by the company Paragon Solutions in the name of national security in order to combat terrorist or criminal organizations," Ciriani told a question time session in the Lower House.
    He said the spy software was used with "respect of the Constitution and of the laws in the strictest way", after reports alleged that the company, which is reported to only work with state entities, had terminated its contract with Rome.
    Migrant-rescue NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans founder Luca Casarini and the editor-in-chief of online investigative news outlet Fanpage, Francesco Cancellato, were reported to be among the victims in Italy. (ANSA).