Treasury hits Predator spyware makers with more sanctions | CyberScoop<\/title> <meta name=\"description\" content=\"It\u2019s another swipe at the Intellexa Consortium, a sprawling network of companies.\"> <link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions\/\"> <meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\"> <meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\"> <meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Treasury hits Predator spyware makers with more sanctions\"> <meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It\u2019s another swipe at the Intellexa Consortium, a sprawling network of companies.\"> <meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions\/\"> <meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CyberScoop\"> <meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-16T16:47:31+00:00\"> <meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg\"> <meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\"> <meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1280\"> <meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\"> <meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tim Starks\"> <meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\"> <meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@timstarks\">  <link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/securepubads.g.doubleclick.net\">\n<link rel=\"dns-prefetch\" href=\"\/\/use.typekit.net\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application\/rss+xml\" title=\"CyberScoop \u00bb Feed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/feed\/\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" type=\"application\/rss+xml\" title=\"CyberScoop \u00bb Comments Feed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/comments\/feed\/\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-2\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-includes\/css\/dist\/block-library\/style.min.css?m=1725982252g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-6\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/mu-plugins\/search\/elasticpress\/dist\/css\/related-posts-block-styles.min.css?m=1725466133g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"all-css-8\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/themes\/scoopnewsgroup\/dist\/css\/frontend.css?m=1724269863g\" type=\"text\/css\" media=\"all\">\n<link rel=\"stylesheet\" id=\"typekit-css\" href=\"https:\/\/use.typekit.net\/itk2qbh.css?ver=ada0ad45b21fc79c6694\" media=\"all\"> <link rel=\"https:\/\/api.w.org\/\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/\"><link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"JSON\" type=\"application\/json\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81757\"><link rel=\"EditURI\" type=\"application\/rsd+xml\" title=\"RSD\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/xmlrpc.php?rsd\">\n<meta name=\"generator\" content=\"WordPress 6.6.2\">\n<link rel=\"shortlink\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=81757\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"oEmbed (JSON)\" type=\"application\/json+oembed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/oembed\/1.0\/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcyberscoop.com%2Ftreasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions%2F\">\n<link rel=\"alternate\" title=\"oEmbed (XML)\" type=\"text\/xml+oembed\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-json\/oembed\/1.0\/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcyberscoop.com%2Ftreasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions%2F&format=xml\">   <link rel=\"icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=32\" sizes=\"32x32\">\n<link rel=\"icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=192\" sizes=\"192x192\">\n<link rel=\"apple-touch-icon\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=180\">\n<meta name=\"msapplication-TileImage\" content=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/3\/2023\/01\/cropped-cs_favicon-2.png?w=270\"> <\/head><body class=\"post-template-default single single-post postid-81757 single-format-standard\" id=\"readabilityBody\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions\/#main\" class=\"skip-to-content-link visually-hidden-focusable\">Skip to main content<\/a> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-desktop\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p> <main id=\"main\" role=\"main\" tabindex=\"-1\"> <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--top ad--top-mobile\">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"stickybar\" class=\"stickybar stickybar--event js-stickybar\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__details\" readability=\"4.952380952381\">\n<div class=\"stickybar__info js-sticky-bar-content\" readability=\"32\">\n<p>Voting is open for the 2024 CyberScoop 50 awards! <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p> <a class=\"stickybar__link button button-tertiary\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/cyberscoop50\/vote\/\">Click here!<\/a> <\/div>\n<p> <button class=\"stickybar__close js-stickybar-close\" aria-controls=\"stickybar\"> <svg class=\"icon icon--close\" width=\"21\" height=\"22\" viewBox=\"0 0 21 22\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"m.822.518-.805.805L9.695 11 .017 20.678l.805.805 9.678-9.678 9.677 9.678.806-.805L11.305 11l9.678-9.677-.806-.805-9.677 9.677L.822.518Z\" fill=\"currentColor\" \/><\/svg> <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Close<\/span> <\/button> <\/section>\n<article class=\"single-article content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__container js-single-article-content\">\n<header class=\"single-article__header \" readability=\"23.038288288288\">\n<div class=\"single-article__header-content\" readability=\"29.045226130653\">\n<ul class=\"single-article__eyebrow\">\n<li class=\"single-article__category\"> <a class=\"single-article__category-link\" href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/news\/government\/\"> <span>Government<\/span> <\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> It\u2019s another swipe at the Intellexa Consortium, a sprawling network of companies. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__cover-wrap\">\n<figure class=\"single-article__cover\"> <img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" fetchpriority=\"high\" width=\"640\" height=\"426\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions.jpg?resize=640%2C426&ssl=1\" class=\"single-article__cover-image wp-post-image\" alt decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg 1920w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=600,400 600w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=252,168 252w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=506,337 506w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=1013,675 1013w, https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/09\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions-1.jpg?resize=1265,843 1265w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1013px) 100vw, 1013px\"><figcaption> J Studios\/Getty Images <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"single-article__content\">\n<div class=\"single-article__content-inner has-drop-cap\"> <html readability=\"33.659964253798\"><body readability=\"68.062519154153\"><\/p>\n<p>The Treasury Department announced sanctions Monday on the Intellexa Consortium, a corporate entity responsible for developing and marketing the notorious Predator spyware.<\/p>\n<p>The sanctions target five individuals and one corporate entity that the U.S. government says were responsible for the spyware\u2019s proliferation.<\/p>\n<p>They are in addition to the <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/predator-intellexa-cytrox-sanctions\/\">sanctions issued in March<\/a>, when the Treasury Department said Predator has been implicated in the targeting of American government officials, journalists and policy experts. The Biden administration had placed Intellexa on its <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/commerce-department-blacklists-spyware-companies\/\">trade blacklist<\/a> last summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese sanctions are the next step in our continued effort to deny problematic vendors safe haven across jurisdictions and also demonstrate that there will be accountability measures regardless of corporate structures and shell games that they may be playing,\u201d a senior administration official said during a press briefing Monday. <\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Intellexa Consortium, also sometimes referred to as the Intellexa Alliance, is the network of companies behind the Predator spyware. Its sprawling structure necessitated the additional sanctions, a senior administration official said.<\/p>\n<p>The five people <a href=\"https:\/\/home.treasury.gov\/news\/press-releases\/jy2581\">sanctioned Monday<\/a> were Felix Bitzios, owner of an Intellexa company; Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, owner of another consortium company; Merom Harpaz, the top executive of the consortium; Panagiota Karaoli, director of multiple consortium entities; and Artemis Artemiou, general manager of a consortium company.<\/p>\n<p>Aliada Group, a British Virgin Islands-based company and member of the consortium, also was sanctioned. The Treasury Department said the firm enabled tens of millions of dollars worth of transactions involving the network.<\/p>\n<p>There have been signs that the sanctions, as well as exposure of its operations by threat researchers and news outlets, had <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/sanctioned-and-exposed-predator-spyware-maker-group-has-gone-awfully-quiet\/\">hindered Intellexa<\/a>. But there also have been <a href=\"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/predator-spyware-resurfaces-with-signs-of-activity-recorded-future-says\/\">recent signs<\/a> of Intellexa emerging from a period of relative silence. Furthermore, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2024\/09\/04\/spyware-pegasus-predator-restrictions-surveillance\/\">recent study<\/a> found that spyware manufacturers have been able to avoid efforts to constrain them by renaming their companies, starting new ones or moving to different countries.<\/p>\n<p>A senior administration official told reporters Monday that entities like the Intellexa Alliance are \u201cstruggling to move their money around\u201d as a result of a series of sanctions against spyware makers. Further measures, such as visa restrictions, also are having an impact, the official said.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad ad--inline_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u201cWe also have information that commercial spyware executives are concerned about the prospect of visa bans,\u201d the official said. \u201cAnd we\u2019ve seen publicly available reflections that some cyber technical talent is choosing to avoid getting into the commercial spyware industry to avoid the risk of these accountability measures.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Treasury\u2019s announcement comes shortly after Apple <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.cand.388382\/gov.uscourts.cand.388382.98.0.pdf\">asked a court to dismiss its lawsuit<\/a> against spyware industry leader NSO Group, for reasons that include the possibility that court disclosures could jeopardize its efforts to combat spyware, that NSO Group has taken steps to avoid sharing its own information and that the suit\u2019s impact could be diluted as a result of an expanding spyware market with players beyond NSO Group.<\/p>\n<p> <\/body> <\/p>\n<footer class=\"single-article__footer\" readability=\"0.58064516129032\">\n<div class=\"author-card\" readability=\"7\">\n<p><h4 class=\"author-card__name\">Written by Greg Otto and Tim Starks<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__tags-container\">\n<h4 class=\"single-article__tags-title\">In This Story<\/h4>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/footer>\n<p> <\/html><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"single-article__ads js-single-article-sidebar\">\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-5 ad--rightrail_1 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ad ad--sidebar js-single-article-sidebar-4 ad--rightrail_2 \">\n<div class=\"ad__inner\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Advertisement<\/span> 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{"id":5337,"date":"2024-09-16T11:47:31","date_gmt":"2024-09-16T16:47:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cyberscoop.com\/?p=81757"},"modified":"2024-09-16T11:47:31","modified_gmt":"2024-09-16T16:47:31","slug":"treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ddi.mohflo.net\/index.php\/2024\/09\/16\/treasury-hits-predator-spyware-makers-with-more-sanctions\/","title":{"rendered":"Treasury hits Predator spyware makers with more sanctions"},"content":{"rendered":"