In a recent episode, the UN Security Council met to spotlight the lurking risks of commercial spyware, a significant discussion led by the United States amongst others and supported by France, the United Kingdom, and South Korea. In the meeting, governments were called on to harness control measures against the rampant increases and misuse of these surveillance softwares.
The meeting didn’t conclude with actionable resolutions but instead, echoed the urgency of regulatory measures against spyware proliferation. Despite non-committal standpoints from Russia and China, the emphasis was placed firmly on national responsibilities to manage the spiraling misuse.
John Scott-Railton from Citizen Lab expressed his concerns on the growth of spyware facilitated by an invisible network of developers, brokers, and boutique firms. Drawing attention to Europe, he cited Barcelona as an emerging hub for spyware companies.
Representatives of Poland and Greece, both embroiled in local spyware scandals, acknowledged the focus on spyware control measures. The Polish representative highlighted legislation attempts to increase control on security and intelligence activities while Greece’s representative referred to the 2022 bill that proposes a spyware sales ban.
Discussions included earlier revelations of global surveillance efforts by the United States— raised by Russian delegates—while Chinese representatives downplayed commercial spyware’s dangers compared to government’s advanced cyber weaponry.
During the Biden government’s tenure, there have been steps to curb commercial spyware, including the imposition of sanctions on Israeli spyware companies NSO Group and Candiru whilst banning travel for people involved in spyware industry.
Original source: Read the full article on TechCrunch
