The U.S. is continuing its efforts to crack down on the most harmful actors in the surveillance industry.
The U.S. government placed two Israeli spyware companies on a blacklist this week, all but totally cutting them off from business opportunities with American firms. The move is yet another attempt by the Biden administration to clean up the ethically bankrupt spyware industry before it spins totally out of control.
Intellexa and Cytrox, which have both been described as “Israeli-controlled,” are known for selling shady cyber exploits that can infiltrate mobile devices, steal data, and monitor a user’s activity. Critics say such tools are commonly used by governments to hack the phones of journalists and political activists and can provide full-spectrum visibility into the targets’ lives.
In a statement published Tuesday, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Standards accused both firms of “trafficking in cyber exploits used to gain access to information systems, threatening the privacy and security of individuals and organizations worldwide.
