To ensure a smooth function across the board, the world needs a lot of different forces to collaborate at every step. In fact, the interwoven nature here makes for a scenario in which any lapses during such collaborations can lead to negative ramifications. These ramifications, in turn, can impact us on varying levels. For instance, the radius of a minor inconsistency might be relatively smaller. However, we can’t forget about the other extreme end. If the said inconsistency turns out to be a big one, it can easily pull all the wrong strings for a much bigger piece of population, at times even causing irreversible damage. In a bid to prevent these situations, we have specialized regulatory bodies working around the clock, using stringent regulations for better overall order. Now, even though the core idea behind regulating will never really change, we do witness sizeable modifications in its application. To contextualize this, we can look at how technology is switching the way things are done on the regulatory block. With the fresh onus of supervising tech products, the industry has been forced into restructuring its approach. It has been a slow and tedious process, but the governing forces are finally able to comprehend this ingenious creation, and a recent decision testifies for that big time.
The U.S. commerce department has officially announced a decision to ban NSO Group from doing any business in America. NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company, is known to develop malware for helping law enforcement agencies and governments. The organization’s recent history, however, has been marred with serious allegations. In 2019, WhatsApp filed a lawsuit against NSO Group for its supposed involvement in a Pegasus spyware attack on over 1400 users. Later on, the company was also shockingly connected to the event of Jeff Bezos’ phone getting hacked through a zero-click malware. As if that wasn’t enough, spyware attacks on prominent government officials, activists, and journalists did everything to hurt NSO Group’s case in build up to the department’s decision.
“The United States is committed to aggressively using export controls to hold companies accountable that develop, traffic, or use technologies to conduct malicious activities that threaten the cybersecurity of members of civil society, dissidents, government officials, and organizations here and abroad,” said Gina Raimondo, commerce secretary.
In response to the decision, NSO Group has also shared a statement of its own.
“We look forward to presenting the full information regarding how we have the world’s most rigorous compliance and human rights programs that are based on the American values we deeply share,” the company stated.
It’s hard to say whether we have seen the last of this matter, but the decision falls well in line with country’s ongoing efforts to give human rights a renewed importance in its foreign policy.