Will NSO employees soon be barred from entering the US?
Will NSO employees soon be barred from entering the US?
The US announced that it would restrict visas of individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware. In 2021, Israel's NSO and Candiru were placed on a blacklist which prohibits American companies from doing business with them
The U.S. State Department will impose restrictions on visas for individuals involved in the malicious use of commercial spyware programs, it announced on Tuesday. "The United States remains concerned with the growing misuse of commercial spyware around the world to facilitate repression, restrict the free flow of information, and enable human rights abuses," said Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a press statement. "The misuse of commercial spyware threatens privacy and freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.”
This is the third significant move the U.S. has taken against spyware such as NSO's Pegasus. In 2021, Israeli companies NSO and Candiru, along with several foreign firms, were added to the Commerce Department's blacklist, prohibiting American companies from engaging with them without prior approval. Last March, President Joe Biden issued a presidential order banning U.S. government agencies from using commercial spyware programs "that poses risks to national security."
The current move is broader and targets not only manufacturers but also their clients, and for the first time will directly impose sanctions on individuals and not just companies and organizations. According to the new policy, the State Department may restrict visas for individuals who have misused commercial spyware to harass, illegally track, suppress, or threaten others including journalists, activists, dissidents, and members of minority groups or vulnerable communities.
Additionally, the policy will restrict visas for individuals who have assisted or financially profited from the malicious use of spyware. These include those who work with companies that develop commercial spyware. Furthermore, the policy also allows restricting visas for spouses or children of these individuals. While the policy has not yet been implemented, it is likely that very soon both current and former senior officials and employees of NSO and similar companies, will be unable to obtain visas to the United States, or have their existing visas revoked, as well as those of their spouses and children.
According to Blinken, the policy was formulated due to the reliance on commercial spyware for arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and extrajudicial killings. "The misuse of these tools presents a security and counterintelligence threat to U.S. personnel," he added. "The United States stands on the side of human rights and fundamental freedoms and will continue to promote accountability for individuals involved in commercial spyware misuse."
Dr. Tal Mimran, an Adjunct Lecturer in law and technology at the Hebrew University and head of the Tachlit digital human rights program said, "Combined with the recent decision to impose economic sanctions on Israelis, we are seeing a particularly alarming situation that requires deep consideration from the Israeli government. Over the past few years, the cyber attack industry, led by companies like NSO, which has become a global symbol, has turned from an Israeli success story into a reputational challenge that significantly affects Israel's foreign relations.
"Damage to this industry also means, of course, severe damage to Israel's economy. It seems that the United States has decided to join the growing trend, which has been particularly prominent in Europe, aimed at restricting and reducing the use of spyware (and perhaps even banning it altogether). Israel must show that it is responding to such developments, for example, by increasing supervision of the industry."
NSO issued the following response: "NSO sells its technologies under strict regulations, complies with all laws and regulations, and sells only to allies of the United States and Israel. It has initiated and implemented the industry-leading compliance and human rights protection program, which defends against malicious use by governmental entities and investigates all credible allegations of misuse. The company does not operate its technology and is not exposed to intelligence gathered by its governmental clients. NSO has long called for global regulation to prevent misuse and sees the proposed U.S. policy as unjustified in NSO's case."
