This is the first time the US government has gone after specific people, not just companies, with sanctions for flogging dodgy spyware. And it shows that the White House and the US government are getting serious about stopping the spyware racket.

US Treasury's top terrorism and financial expert Brian E. Nelson said the actions were a big step forward in stopping the abuse of commercial snooping tools, a growing threat to the US.

"The US is focused on setting clear rules for the proper development and use of these technologies while also ensuring the human rights and freedoms of people worldwide are protected."

The US Treasury slapped sanctions on Tal Dilian, the boss of Intellexa and a veteran of the spyware trade, and Sara Aleksandra Fayssal Hamou.

According to the Treasury, Hamou has a leading role in Intellexa, is an expert in hiding money, and has provided the company with management services, such as renting office space in Greece.

The US government claims that Hamou, as well as Dilian and his companies, had a hand in making spyware that was used to target Americans, including US government officials, journalists and policy experts. The government did not provide any proof to back up the claim that Intellexa spyware was used against US government officials,

The sanctions also target the Intellexa Consortium, which includes Intellexa S.A., a Greece-based spyware maker that has sold its tools to nasty regimes; the Ireland-based Intellexa Limited, which acts as a middleman for the consortium; Cytrox AD, a North Macedonia-based company in the consortium; the Hungary-based Cytrox Holdings ZRT, which made the Predator spyware; and the Ireland-based Thalestris Limited.

Sanctions are a powerful weapon in the US government's arsenal of red tape against cyber crooks, ransomware gangs and now spyware dealers. The US Treasury issues sanctions to make it illegal for US individuals or businesses to do business with a sanctioned entity, such as paying for spyware. By imposing sanctions against Dilian and his mates by name, the US government aims to make it much harder for the individuals to cash in on commercial snooping.

According to a US government official, the sanctions mean US companies and people are banned from dealing with Intellexa and Cytrox, as well as Dilian and Hamou, which includes financial transactions and material or technological support.