In a quiet palazzo behind Milan’s Duomo, a group of former policemen, businessmen and hackers were allegedly building a digital empire of blackmail. Their creation, Beyond, was a database so vast it could, in the words of one participant, “screw over all of Italy.” It contained confidential records from state systems — from flagged bank transactions to criminal investigations — all stitched together to profile politicians, executives and public figures.
The project was the brainchild of an unlikely trio. Carmine Gallo, a retired “supercop” once hailed for fighting the mafia; Enrico Pazzali, a Milanese businessman with powerful friends; and Samuele Calamucci, a coder known as “the professor.” Under the cover of a corporate-intelligence firm called Equalize, they allegedly turned hacking into a business model, selling access to damaging information for hefty fees.
The scheme came to light in 2022, when police following a gangster happened upon Gallo. What they uncovered was a cyber-espionage operation with tentacles stretching through Italy’s institutions. The group is accused of illegally tapping state databases and selling dossiers to clients including banks, energy companies and law firms — all of which deny knowing anything illicit was afoot.
When the operation collapsed in 2024, prosecutors charged four ringleaders with conspiracy, hacking and corruption, and questioned sixty others. Among the alleged victims were political heavyweights such as former prime minister Matteo Renzi and Senate president Ignazio La Russa. Gallo, Equalize’s muscle and moral compass of sorts, died suddenly mid-investigation, deepening the mystery.
Italy, of course, is no stranger to intrigue. From Cold-War spy scandals to the shadowy P2 masonic lodge, the line between state secrecy and private manipulation has always been porous. Equalize merely updated the formula for the digital age. Where once kompromat was whispered over espresso, it is now packaged as “risk intelligence” and sold by subscription.
The firm’s clients paid for discretion, but its leaders dreamed of dominance. Prosecutors say Beyond could generate tailored dossiers at the touch of a button, transforming data into a weapon of persuasion. Its creators courted both corporate and political patrons. During the 2023 Lombardy regional elections, Pazzali allegedly ordered background checks on allies of a rival candidate. He has denied wrongdoing.
The case also hints at murky links between the hackers and elements of Italy’s intelligence community. Some of those charged claim they acted with the tacit approval of the state; others insist their work was patriotic, not criminal. Investigators found evidence of contact with Israeli operatives and foreign intelligence agencies. Much of the testimony remains classified, leaving the boundaries between rogue activity and sanctioned espionage unclear.
The affair has shaken Italy’s political establishment. Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi called it “an attack on democracy,” while Renzi, a plaintiff in the upcoming trial, warned that the scandal exposed the vulnerability of Italy’s institutions to digital manipulation.
Yet few Italians are surprised. The country’s justice system is slow, its bureaucracy leaky, and its politics chronically cynical. As historian Giovanni Orsina put it, “spying on opponents has become an Italian tradition.” Equalize’s dissolution is unlikely to end it. Several of its programmers have already found new jobs in cybersecurity.
In the end, Beyond may prove less an anomaly than a warning. Data, once the preserve of the state, has become the weapon of anyone with access and ambition. Italy’s latest scandal shows that in a world awash with information, the real power lies not in truth, but in who can control — or threaten to reveal — it.
Source
Politico