The headquarters of the US Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C. (European)
The US administration imposed sanctions on a former officer in the Israeli Military Intelligence (AMAN) for his role in developing and disseminating spyware that targeted American officials and journalists.
The US Treasury Department said in a statement that its Office of Foreign Assets Control listed two individuals and five entities linked to Intelexa, which is based in Greece, yesterday, Tuesday.
The ministry explained in its statement that the sanctions included the company's president and founder, Tal Delian, and that the company helped spread commercial spyware and surveillance technologies around the world, including for the benefit of authoritarian regimes, considering that the spread of commercial spyware poses clear and increasing security risks to the United States.
In Tel Aviv, Israeli media, including Yedioth Ahronoth and The Times of Israel, reported that Dillian is a former officer in Israeli Military Intelligence (AMAN), adding that the sanctions included his wife Sarah Hamo, who is his partner in Intelexa, for providing administrative services to the company. .
The US sanctions stipulate that all property in the possession of Dillian and his wife, and the property of the five other entities covered by the sanctions that are in the United States or in the possession or control of American persons, are prohibited.
It also prohibits people in the United States from conducting transactions with them, and financial institutions and other entities that have business relationships with those on the same list may also be subject to sanctions.
According to the statement, sanctions were imposed on other entities linked to Intelexa, including “Strox ED” based in North Macedonia, “Strox Holdings ZRT” based in Hungary, and “Thalestris” based in Ireland, for their role in developing and distributing the spyware known as “ Predator".
The Predator program allowed the user to infiltrate electronic devices through zero-click attacks that do not require any user intervention for the spyware to infect the device.
The US Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, Brian E. Nelson, said in the statement that the measures taken by the department “represent a tangible step forward in confronting the misuse of espionage tools, which pose an increasing security risk to the United States and our citizens.”
The spyware, which was used in dozens of countries, allowed unauthorized data extraction, geographic location tracking, and access to personal information on hacked devices, according to the statement.
Dillian was linked to the NSO group, the creator of the Pegasus program, which was used to spy on journalists and human rights activists in many countries.
According to Forbes, Dillian acquired Strox in 2019 to make Intelexa a one-stop-shop for hacking and electronic surveillance services and products.
Source: Agencies