President Biden has approved a new executive order (EO) banning government use of commercial spyware previously exploited by foreign countries to spy on citizens, dissidents, activists and others.
The ruling applies to all tools used to spy on foreigners or U.S. citizens to suppress civil liberties or violate human rights.
EO is spyware that poses a “counterintelligence or security risk” to Washington, for example, when used to access U.S. government computers or when “under the direct or effective control” of a foreign intelligence agency. is also targeted.
Commercial spyware of the kind created by the NSO Group and others is becoming increasingly controversial. Vendors claim their goods are sold to governments for legitimate law enforcement and other purposes only, but reports suggest otherwise.
An Israeli company is being sued by Apple and WhatsApp for developing and installing Pegasus spyware on hundreds of customers’ devices without their knowledge. Among them were human rights activists, journalists and even government officials, according to WhatsApp.
Read more about NSO Group: Facebook takes spyware company NSO Group to court.
The company is now blacklisted by the Department of Commerce, restricting access to US technology, but many of its peers have continued to operate unaffected.
“Foreign governments and people deploy commercial spyware against U.S. government agencies, personnel, information and information systems, posing significant counterintelligence and security risks to the U.S. government,” EO asserted. bottom.
“Foreign governments and foreigners have also used commercial spyware for inappropriate purposes, including targeting and intimidation of perceived adversaries. or restrict freedom of association, enable other human rights abuses or suppression of civil liberties, or track or target U.S. persons without proper legal authorization, protection, or oversight.”
John Scott-Railton, senior researcher at Citizen Lab, described the news as a “massive deal.” This discourages commercial spyware developers from hoping that one day they will be able to sell their products to the US government.
Even exemptions to the US government’s use of spyware are designed not to be easily circumvented because government agencies must exceed high standards, he added.
“#SpywareEO is the first comprehensive government action against #spyware. [of] The slippery nature of the industry. Closes many loopholes. ” Scott Railton tweeted.
“Whenever the USG regulates, there is always the temptation to speculate about US corporate protectionism. , hitting U.S.-based spyware companies just as hard. Good.”
