The U.S. Treasury Department unexpectedly removed from its sanctions list three individuals previously accused of ties to Intellexa , the developer of the Predator spyware .
The decision was made following an internal review and a request for sanctions. Authorities stated that three individuals had taken steps to distance themselves from Intellexa’s activities.
They had previously been sanctioned for their involvement in the management and distribution of spyware. According to the U.S. Treasury Department, one of them provided management services to Intellexa and rented an office in Greece. Another owned Thalestris, the company that held the distribution rights to Predator. The last, however, held a high-level position at Intellexa and coordinated its activities.
The lifting of the sanctions sparked outrage among human rights activists and members of the cyber community. Among the critics was John Scott-Railton of the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab, who called the decision inexplicable and pointed out that Predator is still actively used in several countries. Despite the lifting of the restrictions, it is still unclear what measures have been taken to distance themselves from Intellexa.
The previous US administration had imposed sanctions on these individuals as part of a broader campaign against commercial spyware vendors .
At the time, authorities stressed that Predator posed a growing threat to national security . It was the first time the potential assets of individuals associated with such a product had been frozen nationwide.
The extremely dangerous Predator surveillance tool is capable of infecting Android and iOS devices through zero-day bugs. Once infiltrated, it gains access to a wide range of device data: from chats, calls, and photos to login credentials, cryptocurrency wallets, browser data, and even game accounts . According to experts, infections have been detected on devices in the United States, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
In the past, Predator has been linked to attempts to hack the phones of American politicians, including senators and members of Congress, through platforms such as X and Facebook. One such attack, according to Amnesty International, was carried out by hackers acting on behalf of the Vietnamese government during regional security talks between Washington and Hanoi. Journalists reporting in East Asia have also been targeted.
In addition to its own developments, Intellexa actively collaborates with other companies in the spyware market, expanding the influence and capabilities of its products.
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