ICE confirms use of Graphite spyware to intercept encrypted messages, says it is aimed at fentanyl traffickers

What ICE admits

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has confirmed in a letter that its Homeland Security Investigations unit is using powerful spyware called Graphite to intercept encrypted messages as part of efforts to disrupt fentanyl trafficking. The admission comes in a letter from acting director Todd Lyons — a document NPR reviewed — which says Lyons approved “cutting‑edge technological tools” to counter the “unprecedented lethality of fentanyl” and the exploitation of encrypted platforms by transnational criminal organizations.

How the tool works — and why people are worried

Graphite was developed by an Israeli firm called Paragon Solutions and reportedly uses so‑called “zero‑click” techniques that can access messages without a user ever tapping a link. It has been reported that WhatsApp discovered dozens of journalists and civil‑society figures abroad who were targeted with Graphite, and researchers at Citizen Lab later identified specific infections through WhatsApp messages in Italy. Paragon allegedly ended contracts with some Italian government agencies in 2025. Sounds familiar? Think back to the controversy over Pegasus. Same script, different name.

The political and civil‑liberty fallout

The confirmation lands amid a broader ramp‑up of surveillance tools tied to the administration’s aggressive immigration and deportation agenda — and during a congressional debate over reauthorizing surveillance laws and closing a loophole that lets agencies buy bulk commercial data. Rep. Summer Lee, one of the lawmakers who pressed ICE for answers, warned that the agency is “moving forward with invasive spyware technology inside the United States,” and said communities most at risk — immigrants, journalists, organizers — deserve more than secrecy. Lyons says any use will “comply with constitutional requirements,” and that legal oversight will be coordinated internally. But when the government says it can read encrypted messages, who gets protected — and who gets watched?

Sources: npr.org