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Title: The US Is Now the Largest Investor In Commercial Spyware

Link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/09/11/2048...

An anonymous reader quotes a report from Wired: The United States has emerged
as the largest investor in commercial spyware -- a global industry that has
enabled the covert surveillance of journalists, human rights defenders,
politicians, diplomats, and others, posing grave threats to human rights and
national security. In 2024, 20 new US-based spyware investors were
identified, bringing the total number of American backers of this technology
to 31. This growth has largely outpaced other major investing countries such
as Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom, according to a new report published
today by the Atlantic Council. The study surveyed 561 entities across 46
countries between 1992 and 2024, identifying 34 new investors. This brings
the total to 128, up from 94 in the dataset published last year. The number
of identified investors in the EU Single Market, plus Switzerland, stands at
31, with Italy -- a key spyware hub -- accounting for the largest share at
12. Investors based in Israel number 26. US-based investors include major
hedge funds D.E. Shaw & Co. and Millennium Management, prominent trading
firm Jane Street, and mainstream financial-services company Ameriprise
Financial -- all of which, according to the Atlantic Council, have channeled
funds to Israeli lawful-interception software provider Cognyte, a company
allegedly linked to human rights abuses in Azerbaijan and Indonesia, among
others. [...] Apart from focusing on investment, the Atlantic Council notes
that the global spyware market is "growing and evolving," with its dataset
expanded to include four new vendors, seven new resellers or brokers, 10 new
suppliers, and 55 new individuals linked to the industry. Newly identified
vendors include Israel's Bindecy and Italy's SIO. [...] The study reveals the
addition of three new countries linked to spyware activity -- Japan,
Malaysia, and Panama. Japan in particular is a signatory to international
efforts to curb spyware abuse, including the Joint Statement on Efforts to
Counter the Proliferation and Misuse of Commercial Spyware and the Pall Mall
Process Code of Practice for States. The Atlantic Council's Jen Roberts, who
also worked on the report, urged expanding Executive Order 14105 to also
include spyware. He also emphasized preserving Executive Order 14093, noting
that U.S. purchasing power is a key lever in shaping and constraining the
global spyware market. "US purchasing power is a significant tool in shaping
and constraining the global market for spyware," said Roberts.

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

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