Yesterday (July 18, 2023), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) of the Ministry of Commerce added four European companies to the list of legal entities (list of organizations) involved in trading exploits that were used in Predator spyware to gain access to information systems that threaten the security and privacy of individuals and organizations around the world.
1️⃣Intellexa SA in Greece
2️⃣Cytrox Holdings Crt in Hungary
3️⃣Intellexa Limited in Ireland
4️⃣Cytrox AD in North Macedonia
#BIS #security #privacy #spyware #Predator #Intellexa #Cytrox #expoitation
Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security
(BIS) added four entities, Intellexa S.A. in Greece, Cytrox Holdings Crt in Hungary, Intellexa
Limited in Ireland and Cytrox AD in North Macedonia to the Entity List for trafficking in cyber
exploits used to gain access to information systems, threatening the privacy and security of
individuals and organizations worldwide.
Recognizing the increasingly key role that surveillance technology plays in enabling campaigns
of repression and other human rights abuses, the Commerce Department’s action today targets
these entities’ ability to access commodities, software, and technology that could contribute to
the development of surveillance tools that pose a risk of misuse in violations or abuses of human
rights.
“This rule reaffirms the protection of human rights worldwide as a fundamental U.S. foreign
policy interest,” said Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves. “The Entity List remains a
powerful tool in our arsenal to prevent bad actors around the world from using American
technology to reach their nefarious goals.”
“We remain laser focused on stemming the proliferation of digital tools for repression,” said
Bureau of Industry and Security Under Secretary Alan Estevez.
“Considering the impact of
surveillance tools and other technologies on international human rights, I am pleased to
announce these additions to our Entity List.”
The proliferation and misuse of such commercial surveillance tools, including commercial
spyware, pose distinct and growing security risks to the United States, facilitate repression, and
enable human rights abuses. Today’s Entity List additions build on the Commerce Department’s
prior actions against commercial spyware companies in November 2021.
“The U.S. Government’s commitment to the Code of Conduct for Enhancing Export Controls of
Goods and Technology That Could be Misused and Lead to Serious Violations or Abuses of
Human Rights as announced during the second Summit for Democracy in March 2023, remains a top priority for BIS,” said Assistant Secretary for Export Administration Thea D. Rozman
Kendler. “We will continue to leverage U.S. regulatory tools to control the export of dual-use
goods or technologies to end users who seek to misuse them for the purposes of serious
violations or abuses of human rights.”
