Group of bipartisan lawmakers ask US government to ban several hack-for-hire firms

U.S. lawmakers have asked the Commerce Department to place three Indian hack-for-hire firms—BellTroX, CyberRoot, and Sunkissed Organic Farms (formerly Appin)—on the entity list after investigative reporting linked them to a decade of targeted cyberattacks, espionage against Americans and legal censorship via foreign courts; the firms are accused of stealing data from thousands, manipulating litigation outcomes, and in at least one case being tied to state-directed operations.