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How did Paragon Solutions turn out to be better than its compatriots, who were canceled by the US authorities?
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signed a $2 million contract with Israeli commercial spyware manufacturer Paragon Solutions. The contract between Paragon's Virginia subsidiary and ICE includes licensing, equipment, warranty, maintenance, and training. This was reported by WIRED sources.
The contract was awarded under FAR 6.302-1, which allows the purchase of unique and innovative services without a standard competitive process. It is not known whether the contract is related to the implementation of Paragon Graphite, a product designed to extract data from cloud backups, or other solutions of the company. Representatives for ICE and Paragon declined to comment.
Paragon has previously entered into agreements with government agencies. In December 2022, it was reported that the US Drug Enforcement Administration was using Graphite, and in March 2023, it became known about the company's multimillion-dollar contract in Singapore.
The contract with ICE comes amid U.S. government efforts to reform the commercial spyware market. The measures include the inclusion of NSO Group and Intellexa in a special Entity List, which implies:
Many actions have been taken since President Joe Biden signed an executive order regulating the use of commercial spyware in the U.S. and aimed at ensuring that it is used "responsibly" in accordance with the protection of human rights. In addition, globally, the U.S. is leading an initiative to control the distribution and use of commercial spyware. The initiative has been signed by 21 countries, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea.
Paragon describes itself as a company that offers "ethically sound tools" and notes that it only works with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in 39 countries. U.S. authorities, seeking to establish "responsible" market regulation, are supporting Paragon's activities, which continue to grow.
Founded in 2019 by former Israeli intelligence officers, Paragon received investment from a large venture capital fund, Battery Ventures. In June, Israeli media reported that a U.S. private equity fund was considering acquiring control of Paragon with a valuation of $1 billion.
Paragon also engaged consulting firms to promote its interests in the US market. Lobbying costs amounted to at least $280,000 for 2023 and 2024. The fact that Paragon is not on the Entity List and has not been sanctioned may indicate the success of the lobbying campaign.
Source
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has signed a $2 million contract with Israeli commercial spyware manufacturer Paragon Solutions. The contract between Paragon's Virginia subsidiary and ICE includes licensing, equipment, warranty, maintenance, and training. This was reported by WIRED sources.
The contract was awarded under FAR 6.302-1, which allows the purchase of unique and innovative services without a standard competitive process. It is not known whether the contract is related to the implementation of Paragon Graphite, a product designed to extract data from cloud backups, or other solutions of the company. Representatives for ICE and Paragon declined to comment.
Paragon has previously entered into agreements with government agencies. In December 2022, it was reported that the US Drug Enforcement Administration was using Graphite, and in March 2023, it became known about the company's multimillion-dollar contract in Singapore.
The contract with ICE comes amid U.S. government efforts to reform the commercial spyware market. The measures include the inclusion of NSO Group and Intellexa in a special Entity List, which implies:
- restriction of the activities of entities;
- the introduction of visa restrictions for persons involved in the development and sale of spyware;
- consistent imposition of sanctions on developers.
Many actions have been taken since President Joe Biden signed an executive order regulating the use of commercial spyware in the U.S. and aimed at ensuring that it is used "responsibly" in accordance with the protection of human rights. In addition, globally, the U.S. is leading an initiative to control the distribution and use of commercial spyware. The initiative has been signed by 21 countries, including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, Japan and South Korea.
Paragon describes itself as a company that offers "ethically sound tools" and notes that it only works with law enforcement and intelligence agencies in 39 countries. U.S. authorities, seeking to establish "responsible" market regulation, are supporting Paragon's activities, which continue to grow.
Founded in 2019 by former Israeli intelligence officers, Paragon received investment from a large venture capital fund, Battery Ventures. In June, Israeli media reported that a U.S. private equity fund was considering acquiring control of Paragon with a valuation of $1 billion.
Paragon also engaged consulting firms to promote its interests in the US market. Lobbying costs amounted to at least $280,000 for 2023 and 2024. The fact that Paragon is not on the Entity List and has not been sanctioned may indicate the success of the lobbying campaign.
Source
