U.S. Sanctions Spyware Company Intellexa for Enabling Abuse of Surveillance Tools
• The U.S. Treasury Department banned Intellexa, a company that develops Predator spyware, from doing business in the U.S.
• Predator spyware can take over phones and turn them into surveillance devices by accessing microphones, cameras, files, and location data.
• Intellexa's spyware has been used to target journalists, human rights activists, and political figures like the president of the European Parliament.
• The sanctions forbid Americans and those who do business with the U.S. from transacting with Intellexa, its founder, an employee, and 4 affiliated companies.
• This is the first time the U.S. government has leveraged sanctions authority against a commercial spyware vendor for enabling misuse of their tools.