"Hamou was sanctioned by OFAC in March 2024, and Harpaz and Gambazzi were targeted in September 2024 in connection with developing, operating, and distributing Predator. It's currently not known why they were removed from the list. Harpaz is said to be working as a manager of Intellexa S.A., while Gambazzi was identified as the owner of Thalestris Limited and Intellexa Limited."
"Hamou was listed by the Treasury as one of the key enablers of the Intellexa Consortium, working as a corporate off-shoring specialist in charge of providing managerial services, including renting office space in Greece on behalf of Intellexa S.A. It's not known if these individuals are still holding the same positions. At that time, the agency said the proliferation of commercial spyware presents a growing security risk to the U.S. and its citizens. It called for the need to establish guardrails to ensure the responsible development and use of these technologies while balancing human rights and civil liberties of individuals."
""Any hasty decisions to remove sanctions from individuals involved in attacking U.S. persons and interests risk signaling to bad actors that this behavior may come with little consequences as long as you pay enough [money] for fancy lobbyists," said Natalia Krapiva, senior tech legal counsel at Access Now."
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control removed three individuals tied to the Intellexa Consortium, the holding company behind Predator spyware, from the specially designated nationals list. The individuals named were Merom Harpaz, Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou. Hamou had been sanctioned in March 2024, and Harpaz and Gambazzi were sanctioned in September 2024 for roles in developing, operating, and distributing Predator. Gambazzi was linked to Thalestris Limited and Intellexa Limited, and Harpaz to Intellexa S.A. The reasons for the removals were not disclosed. The Treasury previously warned about commercial spyware risks and called for guardrails to protect rights.
Read at The Hacker News
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]