The list of crimes that the Rome Prosecutor’s Office is charging against the “Squadra Fiore,” an alleged clandestine group composed of former law enforcement officers, who according to the accusations engaged in dossier activities, is quite long. Its members will have to answer for unauthorized access to computer systems, privacy violations, and unauthorized practice of a profession. At the same time, a second line of investigation is underway focusing on fraud and embezzlement, also involving former intelligence service members and some entrepreneurs.
IS GIUSEPPE DEL DEO ALSO CAUGHT IN THE WEB?
Overall, Ansa reports just now, 11 people are involved, including the names of the former number two of the Dis, the Department of Information Security under the direct authority of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of the Italian Republic, Giuseppe Del Deo, and Giuliano Tavaroli, former head of security at Pirelli and Telecom Italia Group, already involved in the Telecom-Sismi scandal. Regarding Tavaroli, the magistrates of piazzale Clodio accuse him, along with three other suspects, of ‘unauthorized access to computer systems of interest for public order and security.’
THE SELF-SUSPENSION FROM CERVED GROUP
The charge against Del Deo concerns embezzlement of several million euros during the period he was at Aisi, the Internal Information and Security Agency. After leaving Dis, Del Deo became the executive chairman of Cerved Group (appointed at the top by the head of the Ion group, which controls Cerved, Andrea Pignataro). The latest news agencies report that Giuseppe Del Deo has announced “that he has self-suspended, with immediate effect, from the position of Executive Chairman of Cerved Group S.p.A. The decision was made to preserve the company’s reputation, although the facts referred to in the search warrant have no connection with Cerved Group or its representatives.”
Del Deo says he is “certain to be able to prove his innocence of the facts as soon as possible.”
THE NEXUS PLATFORM AND THE COST (FOR THE STATE’S COFFERS)
At the center of the accusations made by investigators is the contract, detailed by Fanpage, relating to the signing of a contract for the supply of equipment and the ‘Nexus’ IT platform to the Presidency of the Council worth a total of 8,349,500.00 euros, plus VAT, plus almost two million euros of VAT to be added.
WHAT IT IS USED FOR AND DOUBTS ABOUT ITS FEATURES
The system is used for interception and biometric recognition activities. For the prosecutor, adds Repubblica, the product would have “technical deficiencies.” The former 007, reconstructs Ansa, would have entrusted the proceeds of the shortages to the company managed by entrepreneur Enrico Fincati, who is also under investigation.
WHAT SIND IS AND WHAT IT DOES
The company is Sind. The reference website is particularly sparse, especially under the “who we are” section. It was founded in 1990 “to create high-tech solutions for security.” And, it reads further: “Years of studies, applied research, and market acquisitions have allowed us to develop more refined products, capable of meeting the growing market demands.” In 2022 it was acquired by Maticmind.
THE CLIENTS
The client side appears much more detailed (although not specified as such), listing several government logos (such as the Presidency of the Council), those of the Carabinieri, Orio al Serio and Bologna Airports, and Autostrade per l’Italia (but since 2020 Aspi no longer uses Sind’s supplies).
“The most interesting and current recent development,” adds another clipping this time from Repubblica —is the system for monitoring seas and migration flows, a solution capable of automatically locating vessels at sea, classifying the type of boat, and, through a facial recognition algorithm, identifying faces by comparing them with the Ministry of the Interior’s blacklist.” The next step, the article dated November 13, 2017, added, “will be the opening of a division in Puglia that will leverage talents produced by the University of Lecce.”
THE CONNECTION WITH MATICMIND, WHOSE FOUNDER IS ALREADY KNOWN TO THE NEWS
Today, Sole reports that Sind was acquired in 2022 by Maticmind, a Milanese company also in the cybersecurity sector founded by entrepreneur Carmine Saladino. The acquirer’s website states: “The Italian group, led by President and main shareholder Carmine Saladino (in the photo), and participated by Fondo Italiano d’Investimento, the private equity initiative controlled by CDP, has in fact
acquired 55% of SIND SpA (“SIND”), a leading company in the field of cybersecurity and in the engineering and implementation of biometric systems for the automatic identification of people and things based on artificial intelligence algorithms.”
THE ITALIAN INVESTMENT FUND IN MATICMIND
Reporting the acquisition note reveals that Maticmind is partly owned by CDP. Everything is detailed in another press release, this time from 2020: “The Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR, through the FICC Fund (Fondo Italiano Consolidamento e Crescita), finalized today its entry into Maticmind’s capital.
The operation, which sees the FICC fund acquire a minority stake in Maticmind through a reserved capital increase, represents its first participation in the ICT sector. The strategic goal is to support the company in an ambitious growth path, both organic and external, aimed at strengthening its undisputed leadership.
The company has been the protagonist of an important growth process in recent years, with revenues tripling to nearly 300 million euros by the end of 2019, thanks also to some targeted acquisitions that have allowed it to strengthen both its core business and its new offer portfolio in line with market demands: cybersecurity, applications, ultra-broadband, and 5G.”
A FOUNDER ALREADY KNOWN TO THE NEWS
The name Saladino, recall from Corriere della Sera, had already emerged in 2023: in a two-floor penthouse he owns, 220 square meters just steps from the Vatican, Minister Crosetto lives, a fact that emerges when the co-founder of Brothers of Italy becomes Minister of Defense. It also emerges that Maticmind, a group with over 800 employees, several offices spread throughout the country, and 354 million euros in revenues for 2023 according to the official website, “works for the public administration, specifically for the Ministry of Defense, from which it allegedly received contracts even after Crosetto’s ministerial appointment. Although Saladino claims to have always operated in the market without ever receiving favorable treatment.”
