The U.S. government announced on Monday that it has expanded financial sanctions against five individuals and a corporate entity linked to the spyware manufacturer Intellexa, following previous sanctions against its founder.

In a recent statement, the U.S. Treasury disclosed that the sanctions were imposed on five individuals, including senior executives and associates of Intellexa, who are suspected of being involved in the sale of Intellexa's phone spyware known as Predator to authoritarian governments.

Predator has the capability to covertly hack into fully updated phones, allowing the deploying organization to gain full access to the targeted individual's device, including their private messages and real-time location. The Treasury revealed that the spyware has been utilized to target U.S. government officials, journalists, and opposition politicians.

The sanctioned individuals include Felix Bitzios, the owner of a company within the Intellexa consortium that allegedly supplied Predator spyware to an undisclosed foreign government; Merom Harpaz and Panagiota Karaoli, who hold high-ranking positions within Intellexa's corporate hierarchy; and Andrea Nicola Constantino Hermes Gambazzi, who the Treasury claims was involved in financial transactions for companies within Intellexa's consortium.

In addition, the Treasury sanctioned the Aliada Group, a company based in the British Virgin Islands and a member of the Intellexa group, for facilitating millions of dollars in transactions for the spyware manufacturer.

A senior U.S. government official, speaking on background during a media briefing, stated that the latest sanctions are part of the government's ongoing efforts to target the commercial spyware industry. The official mentioned that the government is monitoring financial activities to identify entities attempting to evade or bypass the sanctions.

Under the U.S. government-imposed sanctions, it is prohibited for individuals or businesses in the U.S. to engage in transactions with a sanctioned entity, including purchasing access to spyware.

This round of sanctions comes after the Treasury previously sanctioned Tal Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, for his involvement in the development and sale of the Predator spyware.

Tal Dilian, the founder of Intellexa, was unavailable for comment prior to the publication of this article.

The U.S. government official mentioned that they are systematically expanding their approach to sanctions against spyware manufacturers, including the recent decision by the U.S. State Department to bar individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware from applying for U.S. visas. The official noted that there were indications that executives in the spyware industry were apprehensive about the government-imposed sanctions.

In a previous interview in March, TechCrunch spoke with industry insiders, including a former executive in the spyware sector, who expressed concerns about their involvement in spyware and potential consequences following the sanctions against Dilian.