Security News > 2020 > June > Congress wants to know who is using spyware against the US
Finally, after years of states' use of this kind of powerful spyware against their rivals and political enemies, the US Congress is planning to order its Director of National Intelligence to keep track of the threat this malware poses to the nation, which foreign governments are using it, and for what.
The Senate bill - which lays out funding for the government's intelligence operations for next year - would require the DNI to submit a report to Congress on the threat posed by commercial spyware.
Scott-Railton called it a "Clear signal that [the] Senate is taking [the] National Security threat of commercial spyware very seriously."
Section 503 would require inquiry into, and reporting on, the companies that sell commercial spyware, including whether it's coming from US companies.
Commercial spyware has always been a NATSEC threat for the US. This language helps gov move towards action.