US sanctions spyware company and executives who targeted American journalists, government officials

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Treasury Department announced Tuesday it has sanctioned two people and a Greece-based commercial spyware company headed by a former Israeli military officer that developed, operated and distributed technology used to target U.S. government officials, journalists and policy experts.

The sanctions target Intellexa Consortium, which the U.S. says has sold and distributed commercial spyware and surveillance tools for targeted and mass surveillance campaigns. Other entities associated with Intellexa — including North Macedonia-based Cytrox AD, Hungary-based Cytrox Holdings ZRT and Ireland-based Thalestris Limited — were sanctioned for their parts in developing and distributing a package of tools known as Predator.

Biden administration officials said it marks the first time that the Treasury Department has sanctioned people or entities for the misuse of spyware.

Predator allows a user to infiltrate electronic devices through zero-click attacks that require no user interaction for the spyware to infect the device. The spyware, which has been used in dozens of countries, has allowed for the unauthorized extraction of data, geolocation tracking and access to personal information on compromised devices.

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“Today’s actions represent a tangible step forward in discouraging the misuse of commercial surveillance tools,