US slaps sanctions on Greek spyware vendor, says it targeted US officials

The U.S. government announced a "first-of-its-kind" sanctions package on Tuesday morning against Greece-based spyware vendor Intellexa and its leadership after the company was involved in targeting U.S. government officials. The Treasury Department targeted two individuals and five entities associated with the Intellexa Consortium for their role in "developing, operating and distributing commercial spyware technology," which the U.S. government says was used against journalists, dissidents, policy experts and U.S. officials. The sanctions effectively freeze any U.S. assets of those targeted and generally bar Americans from dealing with them. Those that engage in certain transactions with them also risk being hit with…