On Monday, President Biden signed an order that says the U.S. federal government can’t use commercial spyware because it could end up being a threat to national security and could be used to target specific people.
This order applies to all government departments and agencies, and it bans any commercial spyware that a foreign government or person could use to get into government computers. It would also include spyware that uses data to get access to certain information and devices without the government’s permission. Spyware that is controlled by a government in another country is also against the law.
By doing this, Biden is trying to make sure that people who work for the U.S. government are safer than they might have been otherwise. It would also tell them more about the times when spyware was used on purpose to spy on Americans without the right permission or consent.
A senior administration official said that “U.S. personnel overseas have been targeted by commercial spyware” and that this step will help them figure out how much these people have been targeted.
The U.S. government has found that 50 U.S. government workers in more than 10 countries were “targeted by commercial spyware” on devices that they used. The order doesn’t say that a list of spyware that can’t be used must be made.
