Four US Democrats Suggest Blacklisting Israeli Spyware Firm

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that "four US House Democrats suggested blacklisting or imposing sanctions against the Israeli firm that licensed spyware used by governments to hack the smartphones of journalists, human rights activists, and business executives."

The Democrats’ statement came in response to an investigation led by The Washington Post and 16 media partners into a list of phone numbers that included surveillance targets. The leaks and ongoing investigations identified at least 11 governments believed to have been customers of the private Israeli spyware company NSO Group: Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India, Togo, and the United Arab Emirates.

“Enough is enough. The recent revelations regarding misuse of the NSO Group’s software reinforce our conviction that the hacking for hire industry must be brought under control,” Reps. Tom Malinowski (D-N.J.), Katie Porter (D-Calif.), Joaquin Castro (D-Tex.), and Anna G. Eshoo (D-Calif.) said in a joint statement.

The US House Democrats also called on the Department of Commerce to consider adding the NSO Group and any companies engaged in similar behavior to its economic blacklist and to impose sanctions on its “abusive” clients under federal law, according to the same report.

In their statement, the House Democrats also demanded the federal government to investigate reports of the used spyware to target US journalists, aid workers, and diplomats abroad.