The new executive order is designed to apply pressure on the secretive industry by placing new restrictions on U.S. government defense, law enforcement and intelligence agencies' purchasing decisions, a senior administration official said.
WASHINGTON -At least 50 U.S. government staffers stationed in 10 countries were targeted with commercial hacking tools, commonly known as spyware, a senior administration official said, highlighting the growing threat by offensive cyber vendors and prompting the White House to introduce rules to hinder the spying.
The extent of such hacking had not been previously known, but in 2021 Reuters reported that Apple Inc iPhones of at least nine U.S. State Department employees were targeted by an unknown assailant using sophisticated spyware developed by an Israeli company.The senior administration official cited Reuters' prior reporting as a reason for the broader internal government review.
By more heavily regulating which organizations can do business with the U.S. government, the idea is that it will shift how the shadowy market operates and limit sales to certain actors, the official said. Makers of such hacking tools could be barred from selling to U.S. agencies if they are found to be doing business with foreign governments that have a poor human rights track record, based on analysis by the U.S. State Department and others.In addition, if the U.S. intelligence community finds evidence that a particular commercial spyware platform was used to help target U.S. government staff, then it too would be subject to the new restrictions.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Analysis-Banking woes, Fed keep investors on edge in nervous U.S. stock market By Reuters*BANKING WOES, FED TO KEEP INVESTORS ON EDGE IN WEEK AHEAD AMID NERVOUS U.S. STOCK MARKET $DIA $SPY $QQQ $VIX 🇺🇸🇺🇸
Read more »
Strength in megacap stocks masks broader U.S. market woes By Reuters*STRENGTH IN MEGACAP TECH STOCKS MASKS BROADER U.S. MARKET WOES AMID BANKING TURMOIL $AAPL $MSFT $GOOGL $AMZN $META $NVDA
Read more »
First Citizens Bank to buy SVB's deposits, loans from FDIC By Reuters⚠️BREAKING: *FIRST CITIZENS BANK TO BUY SILICON VALLEY BANK FOR UP TO $500 MILLION DOLLARS $FCNCA $SIVB
Read more »