The Dangers of Commercial Spyware for Journalists, Activists, and Officials

The use of commercially developed spyware that allows governments to hack a phone and steal its data is booming, and has already targeted journalists, dissidents, and politicians around the world. The Biden administration has banned federal agencies from using commercial spyware that poses risks to human rights and national security, but some of the most powerful surveillance technology has already been used. The spyware, including one named Pegasus from the Israeli firm NSO Group, can secretly steal all of a phone's data, location, messages conversations, and social media. The use of spyware has exploded over the last decade, and the executive order won't prevent authoritarian governments from using commercial spyware.