iscover
Share this article on:
Powered by
MOMENTUM
MEDIA
A movement to introduce methods of countering the misuse of spyware has been launched by the US and some of its allies, including Australia.
The group of nations, made up of the US, UK, Canada, Denmark, France, Costa Rica, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, New Zealand and Australia, has called for the introduction of controls at both a domestic and international level to counter the misuse of spyware.
“We, the governments of Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Denmark, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, recognise the threat posed by the misuse of commercial spyware and the need for strict domestic and international controls on the proliferation and use of such technology,” the allied nations said in a press release issued by the White House.
“Commercial spyware has been misused across the world by authoritarian regimes and in democracies.
“Too often, such powerful and invasive tools have been used to target and intimidate perceived opponents and facilitate efforts to curb dissent; limit freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, or association; enable human rights violations and abuses or suppression of civil liberties; or track or target individuals without proper legal authorisation, safeguards, or oversight.”
The nations have agreed to come together to implement a number of controls to combat the misuse of spyware by governments to preserve the rule of law, human and civil rights.
Nations have also said that they will also share significant amounts of information on commercial spyware proliferation and misuse, allowing countries to better track and identify the tools being used.
Industry partners will also collaborate with the agreeing nations to set industry standards and support innovation.
In addition, US President Joe Biden signed an executive order that prohibits the use of commercial spyware that poses risks to national security by the US government.
The executive order will apply restrictions on intelligence agencies, government, defence and law enforcement.
“Taken together, these efforts aim to reduce the improper use of new technological tools to facilitate repression and human rights abuses, mitigate the counterintelligence threats these tools can pose to the US government, ensure that US companies and former US government personnel are not facilitating authoritarian or repressive practices abroad, and provide tools to Americans and civil society to better protect themselves,” said the White House in a release on the executive order.
The announcement follows the announcement that at least 50 US government officials are confirmed or thought to have been targeted by invasive commercial spyware. The spyware tools were designed to target the mobile phones of government officials.
Be the first to hear the latest developments in the cyber industry.
