Google calls for tighter regulation of spyware

Spyware companies often say their products are intended for government national security purposes. However, the software has been repeatedly found to be used to steal data from users' phones over the past decade. The spying technology has come under increased scrutiny since the Israeli company NSO Group's Pegasus spyware was found on phones around the world.

According to Google’s report, researchers say that while NSO is better known, there are dozens of smaller companies developing spying technology for malicious use, offering a variety of services to hack into phones and bypass the latest security measures Apple and Google have implemented in their iOS and Android operating systems. Google lists some of the companies as Cy4Gate, RCS Labs and Negg Group from Italy, Intellexa from Greece, and Variston from Spain.

Negg Group claims to focus on cybersecurity, but Google claims its software has been used to spy on people in Italy, Malaysia and Kazakhstan. Google also claims Variston created malware that infects users' devices through Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox browsers or iOS apps. Google has called for tighter regulations to prevent the development of spyware. The companies have not yet commented on Google's report.

Google’s report comes a day after the US announced new visa restrictions on those it believes are abusing commercial spyware, allowing it to impose restrictions on individuals believed to be involved in commercial spyware abuse, as well as those who support the practice and benefit from it. Last year, the US and several allies pledged to work to curb spying technology after at least 50 US government employees in 10 countries were found to be targeted by spyware.