United States Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Executives Associated with Intellexa Predator Spyware Operation
The United States Treasury Department has enforced new penalties against five executives and one organization connected with the Intellexa Consortium for their involvement in the creation, execution, and dissemination of a commercial surveillance software named Predator.
“The United States will not accept the irresponsible promotion of disruptive technologies that jeopardize our national security and weaken the privacy and rights of our citizens,” stated Bradley T. Smith, Acting Undersecretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.
“We will hold responsible those who facilitate the spread of exploitative technologies, while also encouraging the ethical advancement of technologies that conform to global standards.”
The sanctioned personas and organizations are detailed below:
- Felix Bitzios, the owner of a company within the Intellexa Consortium suspected of supplying Predator to a foreign government customer and also serving as the director of Intellexa S.A.
- Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, owner of Thalestris Limited and Intellexa Limited, both members of the Intellexa Consortium
- Merom Harpaz, a senior figure in the Intellexa Consortium and managing director of Intellexa S.A.
- Panagiota Karaoli, a director of numerous entities in the Intellexa Consortium under the ownership or subsidiary of Thalestris Limited
- Artemis Artemiou, an employee at Intellexa S.A., as well as the general manager and board member of Cytrox Holdings, another member of the Intellexa Consortium
- Aliada GroupInc., a company in the British Virgin Islands and part of the Intellexa Consortium, has facilitated millions of dollars in transactions
The Treasury disclosed that Thalestris Limited has been actively involved in overseeing transactions for other entities within the Intellexa Consortium, and Aliada Group is managed by Tal Jonathan Dilian, the founder of the Intellexa Consortium.
The department characterized the consortium as a “sophisticated international network comprising decentralized firms that developed and marketed an extensive collection of highly intrusive surveillance software products.”
This development follows the Treasury’s previous sanctions on Dilian, Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou, and five other entities, including Intellexa S.A., for similar reasons.
Furthermore, there has been a resurgence in Predator spyware operations after a period of silence, with likely clients in Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and Saudi Arabia utilizing new infrastructure designed to avoid detection.
“The latest iteration of the Predator infrastructure incorporates an additional layer in its delivery structure to enhance customer anonymity and improve operational security in server configurations and related domains,” Recorded Future reported.
“Although operators of Predator spyware have altered significant aspects of their infrastructure setup, making country-specific attribution more challenging, they have generally preserved their operational approach.”
Additionally, Apple’s move to request dismissal of its lawsuit against NSO Group is noteworthy due to concerns that courtroom disclosures could jeopardize anti-spyware efforts, efforts to refrain from sharing information about Pegasus spyware, and potential dilution in impact due to a growing spyware market with new entrants.
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