Human rights are center stage in a Congressional request to the U.S. Treasury Department for sanctions against Israeli spyware firm NSO Group and three additional foreign surveillance companies that allegedly aided authoritarian governments in committing criminal moral abuses. In a letter signed by Senate Finance Committee chairman Ron Wyden (D-Oregon), House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff (D-California) and 16 other Democratic lawmakers, Treasury was also asked to slap down UAE cybersecurity firm DarkMatter, European bulk surveillance mills Nexa Technologies and Trovicor, and top executives at those firms. Continue reading Lawmakers Urge Treasury Sanctions Against Spyware Firms

The U.S. government has announced its plans to work with other nations to put restrictions on the export of surveillance tools to authoritarian countries such as China. The Biden administration says it would gather allies and start an initiative to regulate the export of surveillance tools. The initiative is planned to be discussed during a virtual gathering, Summit for Democracy, on December 9-10. Representatives from more than 100 democratic nations will be participating. The primary objective of the summit is to crack down on authoritarian governments from using cyber tools to violate fundamental human rights. Continue reading U.S. to Limit Exporting Surveillance Tech to Certain Countries