STOCKHOLM (Chatnewstv.com) — A new report released on Tuesday by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) warns that the global trade in spyware and other cyber-surveillance tools poses mounting risks to human rights and national security, calling for tighter export controls and greater transparency.
“Spyware has been used to target government officials and journalists, and its misuse in armed conflicts raises the risk of violations of international humanitarian law,” the authors wrote in the study, Export Controls and Spyware: Enhancing Oversight, Transparency and Restraint .
The report mapped 188 companies across 31 countries producing surveillance technologies, with most based in Europe, North America, Israel, Russia and China. More than half of spyware producers are concentrated in just three states — India, Israel and Italy .
SIPRI said the misuse of these tools has surged since the Arab Spring and reports of Western companies supplying spyware to authoritarian regimes.
“The proliferation and misuse of spyware and other cyber-surveillance tools pose significant threats to human rights and national security,” the study said .
While export controls and sanctions have been used to restrict sales, the report found they only regulate cross-border transfers and often fall short.
“Export controls can be used to prevent exports of spyware … but their potential is limited by both technical and political challenges,” the study said .
The United States has led efforts to curb spyware exports through sanctions and executive orders targeting companies such as Israel’s NSO Group. Washington’s 2023 ban on U.S. government use of commercial spyware cited “significant counterintelligence or security risks” .
If U.S. leadership weakens, the report said, the European Union could take the lead by connecting export control policy with broader debates on spyware misuse.
Among its recommendations, SIPRI urged governments to publish more data on spyware exports, develop global commitments to regulate transfers, and adopt minimum standards for licensing.
“States should exchange more detailed information … to identify companies seeking to evade or bypass controls,” the report said .
For the EU, the report recommended moving spyware categories into stricter control lists, linking export controls with European Parliament discussions, and considering sanctions against abusers .
“Without stronger oversight and restraint, spyware will continue to undermine democracy, human rights and security worldwide,” SIPRI warned.
