March 5, 2024 at 01:15PM
The U.S. Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control has imposed sanctions on two individuals and five entities associated with the Intellexa Consortium for developing and distributing the Predator spyware, used to target Americans, including government officials and journalists. Sanctions freeze U.S.-based assets and transactions with them, signaling the U.S. government’s commitment to countering spyware misuse internationally.
From the meeting notes, the key takeaways are:
1. The U.S. has imposed sanctions on two individuals and five entities associated with the Intellexa Consortium for their role in developing and distributing commercial spyware technology.
2. The sanctioned individuals are Tal Jonathan Dilian, founder of Intellexa Consortium, and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou, a corporate specialist from Poland.
3. The sanctioned companies linked to spyware technology distribution are Cytrox AD, Cytrox Holdings ZRT, Intellexa Limited, Intellexa S.A., and Thalestris Limited.
4. The commercial spyware technologies, particularly the ‘Predator’ product, have been used to target key individuals, including U.S. government officials, journalists, politicians, activists, and policy experts.
5. Google and Cisco Talos have reported on the zero-day vulnerabilities used by Predator to infect devices.
6. The sanctions include freezing U.S.-based assets linked to the sanctioned persons and entities, as well as prohibiting U.S.-linked individuals and companies from engaging in transactions with them.
7. The sanctions are aimed at countering the misuse of spyware technology and deterring organizations from doing business with sanctioned entities or supporting sanctioned individuals.
8. Despite calls for tighter regulation and public outcry, the spyware has been spreading to new countries in Asia, Africa, and the Caribbean.
These takeaways provide a clear understanding of the U.S. government’s sanctions on the Intellexa Consortium and the impact on the commercial spyware space.