Washington The US Commerce Department added Israel’s NSO Group and Candiru to its trade blacklist on Wednesday, saying they sold spyware to foreign governments that used the device to target government officials, journalists and others.
Positive Technologies of Russia, and Computer Security Initiative Consultancy Pte. Ltd., from Singapore, were also listed. The department said they smuggled cyber tools used to gain unauthorized access to computer networks.
Enlistment of companies to engage in activities contrary to the interests of US national security or foreign policy means exports to them from US counterparts are restricted. For example, it makes it very difficult for US security researchers to sell information about computer vulnerabilities to them.
In the past, NSO Group and Candiru have been accused of selling hacking tools to authoritarian regimes. NSO says it only sells its products to law enforcement and intelligence agencies and takes steps to prevent abuse.
An NSO spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Contact information for Candiru was not available.
The Biden administration this year imposed sanctions on Positive Technologies, a Russian cybersecurity firm, for providing support to Russian security services. The company has denied any wrongdoing.
Spokesperson for Positive Technologies and Computer Security Initiative Consulting Pte. LTD, also known as COSEINC, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.
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