Sep 17, 2024
Ravie Lakshmanan
Spyware / Privacy

The U.S. Department of Treasury has imposed fresh sanctions against individuals and entities linked to the Intellexa Consortium for their involvement in the development, operation, and distribution of a commercial spyware known as Predator.
Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Bradley T. Smith, emphasized the United States’ commitment to holding accountable those who enable exploitative technologies while encouraging responsible development aligned with international standards.
The sanctioned individuals and entities include executives and companies associated with the Intellexa Consortium, responsible for the development and proliferation of Predator spyware.
The Treasury described the consortium as a web of decentralized companies involved in the creation and marketing of invasive spyware products.
The recent sanctions follow a period of increased Predator spyware activity in certain countries, using new infrastructure to avoid detection.
Despite changes in the Predator spyware infrastructure, its operators have maintained their operational methods, making attribution more challenging and increasing customer anonymization.
Additionally, the article discusses Apple’s legal actions against spyware developers and the evolving landscape of the spyware market with new players emerging.