The U.S. Treasury Department on Monday announced sanctions against five senior executives of Intellexa, a cyber intelligence firm founded in Israel and owned by Israelis, known for developing commercial spyware, including the notorious "Predator" software.
The sanctions are part of the U.S. government’s efforts to counter the misuse of surveillance technologies that threaten national security, privacy rights, and freedom of expression, according to a statement from the State Department.
“The United States will not tolerate the reckless propagation of disruptive technologies that threaten our national security and undermine the privacy and civil liberties of our citizens,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith. “We will continue to hold accountable those that seek to enable the proliferation of exploitative technologies, while also encouraging the responsible development of technologies that align with international standards," the statement read.
"As a result of today’s action, all property and interests in property of the designated persons described above that are in the United States or in the possession or control of U.S. persons are blocked and must be reported to OFAC. In addition, any entities that are owned, directly or indirectly, individually or in the aggregate, 50% or more by one or more blocked persons are also blocked. Unless authorized by a general or specific license issued by OFAC, or exempt, OFAC’s regulations generally prohibit all transactions by U.S. persons or within (or transiting) the United States that involve any property or interests in property of designated or otherwise blocked persons. Non-U.S. persons are also prohibited from causing or conspiring to cause U.S. persons to wittingly or unwittingly violate U.S. sanctions, as well as engaging in conduct that evades U.S. sanctions. OFAC’s Economic Sanctions Enforcement Guidelines provide more information regarding OFAC’s enforcement of U.S. sanctions, including the factors that OFAC generally considers when determining an appropriate response to an apparent violation."
Among the executives mentioned in the statement is Merom Harpaz, formerly a key manager at Intellexa S.A., a leading company within the Intellexa Consortium. As part of the sanctions, Harpaz's assets will be frozen, and he will be barred from entering the U.S. or engaging in financial transactions linked to him or other blacklisted executives and companies. Harpaz, who holds degrees from Tel Aviv University and the Technion, has lived in Greece for the past four years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
These sanctions follow earlier actions in March against Tal Dilian, Intellexa’s founder and a former Israeli military intelligence officer, who also spearheaded the development of "Predator." According to previous reports, the spyware was distributed to government entities, including countries accused of human rights violations, and was used to surveil U.S. government officials. Imposing personal sanctions for spyware-related offenses is highly unusual – Dilian was the first individual in U.S. history to face such penalties, and now Harpaz and four others have been added in this second round.
Predator spyware can be used to gain access to data stored and transmitted from the target’s device, such as a cellphone, through one-click and zero-click attacks that require no user interaction for the spyware to infect the device. Successful Predator spyware attacks can provide the spyware’s operators with access to sensitive information on the victim’s device, including photos, geolocation data, personal messages, and microphone records. As a part of the growing commercial spyware industry, the Intellexa Consortium maintains operations around the world, and its clients include state-sponsored actors and governments. Past targets of the Intellexa Consortium’s spyware products include government officials, journalists, policy experts and opposition politicians.