Spyware is among the highest risk surveillance technologies that exist. Spyware can secretly penetrate phones, harvest encrypted messages, activate microphones and cameras, track movements in real time, plant fake evidence, and map entire networks of personal and political relationships without consent or adequate oversight. Around the world, investigations have repeatedly linked commercial spyware to unlawful surveillance, political repression, intimidation of journalists, and the targeting of dissidents and opposition figures. These tools threaten not only privacy and due process, but also national security when powerful cyber capabilities are commercialized through opaque private markets and weaponized against government officials. Multiple United Nations Special Rapporteurs have called for a moratorium on this “life-threatening surveillance tech”, and warned that spyware technologies may be fundamentally incompatible with international human rights law unless companies can prove their use is lawful, necessary, proportionate, and subject to strict oversight.

The article “How Little We Know About Spyware Makers’ Government Ties” from Tech Policy Press alleges that commercial spyware companies are quietly seeking to influence regulation, procurement processes, sanctions designations, and public policy via lobbying firms, political consultants, and well-connected advisers. Reportedly, NSO Group, Interionet Systems, Paragon Solutions, Saito Tech (formerly Candiru), Cognyte and Intellexa have hired lobbyists in Washington and Europe.

As argued by Vas Panagiotopoulos, the growing influence of spyware lobbyists poses a serious threat to transparency, accountability, and human rights because it allows private surveillance interests to shape public policy behind closed doors. These concerns are particularly acute in the spyware industry, given documented allegations and findings linking the misuse of spyware to serious human rights harms.

Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, companies have a responsibility to conduct robust human rights due diligence throughout their operations and downstream business relationships to ensure their products, services, and commercial partnerships are not contributing to, facilitating, or directly linked to human rights violations. Lobbying firms are not exempt from this responsibility.

On 30 June 2026, Business & Human Rights Centre invited the lobbying firms mentioned in the Tech Policy Press article to respond to concerns that their firm has been involved in serving clients in the spyware industry with aims that allegedly “diverge from the public [interest] and have been shown to harm human rights and national security”. We invited them to explain their process for client due diligence as well as their approach to addressing the concerns mentioned above. None responded.

...Paragon Solutions, [Candiru] Saito Tech, Cognyte, Interionet Systems did not reply to Tech Policy Press’s request for comment...

For more information and to see how Paragon Solutions, Candiru / Saito Tech, NSO Group and Cognyte have responded to related allegations, view their respective company pages on our website.