U.S. President Joe Biden has signed an executive order that limits U.S. government agencies from using commercially available spyware – but that doesn’t mean there will be no government use of spyware in the United States. Spyware is a type of malicious software (or malware) which allows someone to gain remote access to a target’s device without the knowledge or consent of the device operator. This includes all of the data on it: messenger logs, photos, files, and contacts. It also gives the ability to conduct novel forms of real-time surveillance, for example, by accessing the device’s microphone and cameras. This technique has been used by nation-states around the world to spy on journalists, dissidents, and minority groups.
Additionally, spyware allows governments to manipulate data on devices, including corrupting, planting, or deleting data, or recovering data that has been deleted, all while erasing any trace of the intrusion. There is a growing concern about law enforcement taking control of suspects’ digital devices and tampering with their content.
The executive order arrived only days before revelations that the United States, which was previously thought to have steered clear of some of the most infamous foreign spyware products, ac
[…]
Content was cut in order to protect the source.Please visit the source for the rest of the article.
Read the original article: