Governments call for regulations on spyware at UN Security Council meeting

Tuesday, The United Nations Security Council held a meeting To discuss the dangers of commercial spyware, which is the first time this type of software has been done — Also known as government or mercenary spyware – It was discussed in the Security Council.

The goal of the meeting, According to the United States Mission to the United NationsThe goal was to “address the implications of the spread and misuse of commercial spyware in order to maintain international peace and security.” The United States and 15 other countries called for the meeting.

Although the meeting was mostly informal and did not end with any concrete proposals, most participating countries, including France, South Korea and the United Kingdom, agreed that governments should take action to control the spread and misuse of commercial spyware. On the other hand, Russia and China rejected these concerns.

John Scott-Railton, a senior researcher at The Citizen Lab, a human rights organization that has investigated spyware abuses since 2012, testified in which he sounded the alarm about the spread of spyware made by “a secretive global ecosystem of developers, intermediaries and intermediaries.” Brokers and small businesses,” which “threaten international peace and security as well as human rights.”

Scott Railton described Europe as a “hub for spyware abuses” and a breeding ground for spyware companies. Referring to a recent TechCrunch investigation that showed Barcelona has become a hub for spyware companies In the past few years.

Representatives of Poland and Greece, countries that have had their own spyware scandals involving software produced by them NSO Group and IntellexaRespectively, I also intervened.

Representative of Poland He pointed to local legislative efforts To place “more control, including by the judiciary, over the relevant operational activities of the security and intelligence services”, while also recognizing that spyware can be used legally. “We are not saying that the use of spyware is not justified or even required,” Poland’s representative said.

And the Greek actor He pointed to the country’s 2022 draft law to ban the sale of spyware.

On the other hand, Russia blamed the United States. The Russian representative pointed out Historical revelations about NSA espionage “It is precisely the United States that has created a real system of global surveillance and illegal interference in the private lives of its citizens and citizens of other countries, and continues to improve this system,” said American whistleblower Edward Snowden.

China’s representative criticized the meeting itself, saying that discussing “so-called commercial espionage programs and maintaining international peace and security puts the cart before the horse compared to the more harmful proliferation activities undertaken by governments.”

“Since the Stuxnet incident, the proliferation of advanced national cyber weapons has created a series of major cyber risks, far more harmful than commercial spyware,” China’s representative said, referring to the Stuxnet malware that was developed. As part of a US-Israeli operation aimed at sabotaging Iran’s nuclear weapons programme.

During the Biden administration, the US government took several actions against commercial spyware, including Sanctions Israeli spyware makers NSO Group and CandiruAnd also based in Greece Intellexa and its founder Tal Delian; And impose Travel bans against people involved in the spyware industry. last year, People who work or used to work in the spyware industry They expressed concerns that sanctions and other punitive measures would affect them personally.