At least 50 U.S. government employees targeted with phone spyware overseas

White House bans federal agencies from using spyware that poses national security and human rights risks in the U.S.

By Ellen Nakashima

and

Tim Starks

March 27, 2023 at 12:00 p.m. EDT

A pedestrian walks past a branch of the Israeli NSO Group, near the southern Israeli town of Sapir, on Aug. 24, 2021. (Sebastian Scheiner/AP)

5 min

At least 50 U.S. government employees in at least 10 countries overseas have had their mobile phones targeted with commercial spyware, a number that is expected to grow as the investigation continues, senior administration officials said this week.

The revelation comes as the White House announces a new executive order to ban the use by the U.S. government of commercial spyware that poses a risk to national security and human rights. The order, unveiled Monday, follows in the wake of a long-running controversy over the misuse of a powerful spyware, Pegasus, by foreign governments to hack journalists, rights activists and dissidents around the world. It also comes as the administration this week co-hosts the second global Summit for Democracy.