Italy's government denies that it has spied on journalists and migrant activists using spyware, but says it will cooperate with any investigation into “vulnerabilities” after at least seven Italian cellphones were apparently hacked with military-grade surveillance technology.

Israeli newspaper Haaretz later confirmed The Guardian’s report, adding that Paragon had terminated its deal with two Italian government agencies — a law enforcement agency and an intelligence agency — and disconnected their access to its spyware product called Graphite, according to the paper’s anonymous sources.

Relations with Parliament Minister Luca Ciriani on Wednesday denied reports that Israeli company Paragon Solutions had terminated its client relationship with Italy amid a furore over the alleged illegal use of its 'Graphite' military-grade hacking software to spy on journalists and activists in many countries,

Israeli cybersecurity company Paragon Solutions has reportedly cut ties with its Italian clients after allegations.

WhatsApp said users in several European countries were targeted with Paragon spyware, according to the Italian government.

The Italian government has confirmed in a statement that seven of its citizens, and many others across Europe, were targeted by Israeli spyware company Paragon Solutions.

The Italian government denied Wednesday that it had spied on journalists and migrant activists using spyware but said it would cooperate with an investigation into "vulnerabilities” after at least seven Italian cellphones were apparently hacked with military-grade surveillance technology.

Italy denied on Wednesday that Israeli spyware maker Paragon had cut ties with Rome following allegations that the Italian government had illegally used its technology to hack the phones of critics instead of criminals.