Washington DC - In an apparent effort to escalate its attacks on immigrant communities, the Department of Homeland Security has reportedly entered into a contract with the US branch of an Israeli spyware vendor to access mobile hacking technology.

A software called Graphite, developed by the Israeli-founded company Paragon Solutions, allows users to hack into any mobile phone, including encrypted applications, Jack Poulson reported in his All-Source Intelligence Substack.

DHS first entered into a $2-million contract with Paragon under President Joe Biden in 2024.

Paragon was founded by Ehud Schneorson, a former commander of Israel's signals intelligence agency, Unit 8200, before it was acquired by private equity firm AE Industrial Partners. It has since merged into the US-based cyber intelligence firm REDLattice.

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The contract was put on pause pending a review into compliance with a 2023 Biden executive order limiting the US government's use of spyware, Wired reported.

The hold was lifted on Saturday, according to a government public procurement notice, with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) listed as the contracting agency.

The news has raised concerns of free speech and privacy rights, and fears that the government could use the technology to further target immigrant communities, journalists, and political dissidents.