Israeli-Owned Spyware Firms Blacklisted by US Commerce Department Over National Security Risks

An Israeli woman uses her iPhone in front of the building housing the Israeli NSO Group, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv, on Aug. 28, 2016. Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

The Commerce Department has placed two European-based Israeli-owned spyware companies on its trade blacklist because of national security concerns.

Intellexa S.A. in Greece, its entity Intellexa Limited in Ireland, and Cytrox AD in North Macedonia, along with its entity Cytrox Holdings Crt in Hungary, were added to the technology export blacklist, the department said in a July 18 statement.