WhatsApp users – including journalists and members of civil society – were targeted by hacking by Israeli spyware maker Paragon Solutions, an official at the popular messaging app, owned by tech giant Meta, was announced today.

Following the discovery of the security breach (hacking), WhatsApp representatives sent a legal warning in the form of a cease-and-desist letter to Paragon.

In a statement, WhatsApp said the company “will continue to protect people’s ability to communicate privately.”

Paragon declined to comment.

The official told Reuters that it identified a hacking attempt targeting about 90 users of the app.

He declined to say the identities of the users who were targeted for hacking or where they were located geographically and he declined to say if they included members of civil society and media. He added that after the breach was detected, WhatsApp stopped it.

He also did not say how the company determined that Paragon was behind the action.

Law enforcement and “industry partners” were notified of the hacking, he said, without further details.