On Tuesday, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting to discuss the dangers of commercial spyware. This is the first time this type of software (also known as government spyware or mercenary spyware) has been discussed by the Security Council.
According to the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, the purpose of the conference was to “address the impact of the proliferation and misuse of commercial spyware on the maintenance of international peace and security.” The United States and 15 other countries called for the conference.
Although the meeting was largely informal and did not result in concrete proposals, most participating countries, including France, South Korea and the United Kingdom, expressed the need for governments to take action to control the spread and misuse of commercial spyware. Agreed that there is. Meanwhile, Russia and China dismissed concerns.
John Scott Railton, a senior researcher at the human rights organization Citizen Lab, which has been researching spyware abuse since 2012, testified, saying that it was created by a “secretive global ecosystem of developers, brokers, and organizations.” The alarm was raised over the spread of spyware. This “threatens international peace and security and human rights.”
Scott-Railton referred to a recent TechCrunch study that showed Barcelona has become a hub for spyware companies in recent years, calling Europe a “center of spyware abuse” and a hub for spyware companies. He said the soil is fertile.
Contact Us Want more information about government spyware manufacturers? You can contact Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai securely from your non-work device on Signal (+1 917 257 1382) or on Telegram and Keybase @lorenzofb or by email. You can also contact TechCrunch via SecureDrop.
Representatives from Poland and Greece, whose spyware scandals related to software made by NSO Group and Intellexa, respectively, also intervened.
The representative of Poland, while also acknowledging that spyware could be used in legal ways, called for local legislation to provide “greater control, including judicially, over the relevant operational activities of security and intelligence services.” He pointed out the efforts of “This is not to say that the use of spyware is never justified or even required,” the representative of Poland said.
And the representative of Greece pointed to his country's 2022 bill banning the sale of spyware.
Russia, on the other hand, pointed the blame at the United States. Russia's representative cited US whistleblower Edward Snowden's historic revelations of NSA spying, calling for “the creation of a real system for global surveillance and illegal interference in the private lives of our own citizens and their own citizens.” This was particularly the case in the United States.” Please continue to perfect this system in other countries. ”
The Chinese delegate criticized the conference itself, saying, “Discussing so-called commercial spyware and maintaining international peace and security is putting the cart before the horse compared to more harmful proliferation activities by governments.”
“Since the Stuxnet incident, the proliferation of advanced nation-state cyberweapons has created a series of significant Internet risks that are far more harmful than commercial spyware,” the Chinese representative said. mentioned in reference to the Stuxnet malware. An Israeli operation aimed at thwarting Iran's nuclear weapons program.
During the Biden administration, the US government has taken several steps against commercial spyware. These include sanctions against Israeli spyware makers NSO Group and Qandil, as well as Greece-based Intellexa and its founder Tal Dillian. and imposing travel bans on people associated with the spyware industry.
Last year, people who work or have worked in the spyware industry told TechCrunch they expressed concerns that sanctions and other punitive measures would have a personal impact on them.