Security News > 2023 > July > US adds Euro spyware makers to export naughty list

The US government on Tuesday added commercial spyware makers Intellexa and Cytrox to its Entity List, saying the duo are a possible threat to national security.

Adding Intellexa and Cytrox to the Entity List places export restrictions on the software vendors as part of the Biden administration's ongoing crackdown against commercial surveillance technology.

It is now impossible for US organizations to do business legally with those placed on the list without special permission from Uncle Sam; the list effectively cuts off Intellexa et al from America.

Like similar snoopware package Pegasus, whose maker NSO Group was added to the federal Entity List in 2021, Predator and Alien have been documented exploiting zero-day flaws and other vulnerabilities to infect and take over Android phones and Apple iOS devices to spy on users and extracting data.

In March, Meta's former security policy manager, who split her time between the US and Greece, sued the Hellenic national intelligence service for compromising her phone and deploying Predator spyware.

The Commerce Department updated its list a few months after US President Joe Biden issued an executive order to prohibit the US government from using commercial spyware.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/07/18/us_sanctions_commercial_spyware/