Group of Bipartisan Lawmakers Ask US Government to Ban Several Hack-for-Hire Firms

In 2020, the Citizen Lab uncovered a massive hack-for-hire operation called Dark Basin. The group targeted American nonprofits, including organizations working on #ExxonKnew and organizations working on net neutrality advocacy. We linked the operation to an Indian company called BellTroX InfoTech Services, and related entities. 

On September 9, a bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, urging him to add three Indian companies, including BellTroX, to the economic sanctions list. 

The lawmakers have accused the firms of  “conducting targeted espionage against U.S. citizens, businesses and the lawyers representing them,” as well as engaging in global lawfare to “censor investigative reporting by prominent American media organizations.”