In April 2022, about four months after Kazakhstan’s government violently cracked down on nationwide protests, cybersecurity researchers discovered that authorities in the country were deploying spyware on smartphones to eavesdrop on citizens.
Although much attention is given to sophisticated, zero-click spyware developed by companies like Israel’s NSO Group, the Italian spyware marketplace has been able to operate relatively under the radar by specializing in cheaper tools. According to an Italian Ministry of Justice document, as of December 2022 law enforcement in the country could rent spyware for €150 a day, regardless of which vendor they used, and without the large acquisition costs which would normally be prohibitive.
As a result, thousands of spyware operations have been carried out by Italian authorities in recent years, according to a report from Riccardo Coluccini, a respected Italian journalist who specializes in covering spyware and hacking.
https://therecord.media/how-italy-became-an-unexpected-spyware-hub