The latest assessment by British intelligence agencies shows that more than half of the world's countries have mastered commercial spyware tools that can invade computers and mobile phones and steal sensitive information. Related threats are being seriously underestimated by British companies and critical infrastructure operators. It was disclosed that the UK's National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) will release a report on Wednesday, pointing out that the threshold for obtaining such high-end surveillance technology continues to decrease, making it easier for foreign governments and hackers to launch attacks against British citizens, businesses and critical infrastructure.
The report estimates that the number of countries possessing such hacking tools has risen to 100, up from about 80 assessed in 2023.
This type of commercial spyware is usually developed by private companies, such as the Israeli NSO Group, famous for its "Pegasus" software, and Paragon, which provides tools such as "Graphite". The way it works is to exploit security vulnerabilities in mobile phone or computer operating systems and applications to quietly break into the device and steal its data. Governments have long claimed that they would only use such tools against suspects of serious crimes and terrorism, but security researchers and human rights defenders have long warned that spyware has been misused by many governments to monitor critics and political opponents, as well as sensitive groups including journalists. British intelligence services have pointed out that the scope of victims of such attacks has "expanded" in recent years and now extends to bankers and wealthy business people.
Speaking at the CYBERUK conference in Glasgow, Richard Horne, head of the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, said UK businesses "fail to truly appreciate the reality of today's world". The speech emphasizes that “most of the major nationwide cyberattacks against the UK originate from hostile foreign governments rather than cybercriminal groups in the traditional sense.” At the same time, the UK and many other countries continue to encounter intrusions that are believed to be related to China. The relevant operations are designed to steal sensitive data, monitor high-level targets, and pave the way for possible destructive attacks in the future. British officials and security experts are concerned that these actions may be intended to disrupt the West's military response capabilities to a potential conflict across the Taiwan Strait at some point in the future.
The UK emphasized that the current spyware threats it faces not only come from governments, but also include cybercriminals who have begun to obtain these advanced tools. Earlier this year, a hacking toolkit known as "DarkSword" was leaked online, which contained multiple exploit codes that can attack modern iPhones and iPads. Anyone can imitate the toolkit and build a malicious website to attack users of Apple devices who have not yet upgraded to the latest system version. This leak once again confirms a fact that has been proven many times: even top-notch hacking tools developed and closely guarded by governments for their own intelligence and security purposes can spread rapidly once they escape control, ultimately exposing millions of ordinary users to malicious attacks.