US cracks down on spyware vendor Intellexa with more sanctions

The U.S. government has sanctioned five executives and one entity linked to the Intellexa Consortium for developing and distributing Predator commercial spyware, which enables one-click and zero-click intrusions of smartphones to steal data such as photos, geolocation, messages, and audio. Predator has been used globally against government officials, journalists, policy experts, and opponents; the announcement follows prior OFAC, Commerce, and visa-restriction actions against commercial spyware vendors and their enablers.