Biden Administration Expands Efforts Against Hacking Threats, Welcoming 6 Countries to Pact Targeting Spyware
• The Biden administration welcomes 6 new countries - Poland, Ireland, Finland, Germany, Japan and South Korea - to a US-led pact to crack down on phone-hacking spyware.
• The administration continues finding more cases of US government personnel targeted by spyware, posing counterintelligence and national security risks.
• Part of the US strategy is convincing allies not to do business with spyware companies whose tools could target US diplomats or dissidents.
• Alarm bells sounded 2+ years ago when dozens of US personnel were hacked with Israeli firm NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.
• The administration banned US agencies from using spyware deemed national security threats or implicated in rights abuses.