Security News > 2023 > March > President Biden kind of mostly bans commercial spyware from US govt

US president Joe Biden on Monday issued an Executive Order on Prohibition on Use by the United States Government of Commercial Spyware that Poses Risks to National Security - a title that is not quite as simple it seems.

The Order and explanatory statement point out that commercial spyware has been used by authoritarian regimes to target activists and journalists, has been deployed without proper authority in democracies, and poses a security risk to the US and other nations.

The test of whether commercial spyware is prohibited is also complex, requiring assessment of whether a commercial spyware vendor "Is under the direct or effective control of a foreign government or foreign person engaged in intelligence activities, including surveillance or espionage, directed against the United States" or "Maintains, transfers, or uses data obtained from the commercial spyware without authorization from the licensed end-user or the United States Government."

The Register can imagine a US-based commercial spyware vendor could structure its affairs to satisfy those requirements - being owned and operated by US citizens and only using spyware with approval could do the trick.

French lawmakers say oui to Olympic video surveillance, but non for faces US Supremes deny Pegasus spyware maker's immunity claim France says non to Office 365 and Google Workspace in school Germany says nein to Qatari World Cup spyware, err, apps.

Another alleged target of commercial spyware was Meta's former security policy manager Artemis Seaford who claims Greece's government employed another strain of spyware to probe her affairs.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/03/28/biden_spyware_executive_order/