The
State
Department
will
soon
impose
visa
restrictions
on
people
who
it
says
have
been
involved
in
the
development
of
spyware.
In
a
press
release
issued
on
Monday,
the
department
said
it
is
taking
steps
to
bar
13
people
“who
have
been
involved
in
the
development
and
sale
of
commercial
spyware
or
who
are
immediate
family
members
of
those
involved”
from
entering
the
United
States.
“These
individuals
have
facilitated
or
derived
financial
benefit
from
the
misuse
of
this
technology,
which
has
targeted
journalists,
academics,
human
rights
defenders,
dissidents
and
other
perceived
critics,
and
U.S.
Government
personnel,”
the
department’s
release
read.
The
looming
visa
restrictions
are
the
result
of
a
policy
implemented
by
Secretary
of
State
Antony
Blinken
in
February
and
were
issued
under
Section
212
(a)(3)(C)
of
the
Immigration
and
Nationality
Act,
which
lets
the
government
deem
foreign
nationals
inadmissible
if
granting
them
a
visa
“would
have
potentially
serious
adverse
foreign
policy
consequences
for
the
United
States.”
As
Infosecurity
Magazine
notes,
this
is
part
of
a
broader
effort
to
crack
down
on
commercial
spyware
companies.
In
March,
the
Treasury
Department
issued
sanctions
against
Tal
Dilian,
the
founder
of
the
company
behind
the
Predator
spyware.
The
sanctions
also
targeted
Dilian’s
company,
the
Intellexa
Consortium;
Intellexa
business
manager
Sara
Aleksandra
Fayssal
Hamou;
and
five
other
entities
associated
with
the
company.
Intellexa’s
Predator
spyware
was
used
to
target
journalists,
human
rights
workers,
and
even
two
members
of
Congress,
an
October
2023
Amnesty
International
report
found.
The
sanctions
prohibit
US
citizens
and
businesses
from
doing
business
with
Dilian,
Intellexa,
or
any
other
listed
entity.
The
State
Department
release
does
not
name
the
13
people
who
will
face
visa
restrictions.
Original author: Gaby Del Valle
Comments