Predators for Hire: A New Report Exposes the Thriving Global Spyware Industry

Commercial spyware has grown into a global, multi‑million euro industry, thriving despite repeated scandals and exposure. A strategic report from Sekoia[.]io’s Threat Detection & Research (TDR) team, “Predators for Hire: A Global Overview of Commercial Surveillance Vendors”, explains how CSVs operate, who their customers are, and why they pose a persistent threat to democracy and human rights.

By 2016 the industry had moved from single exploits to full turnkey platforms, with companies such as NSO Group pioneering zero‑click spyware like Pegasus. The report notes a legitimacy crisis from 2021 onwards as journalists, NGOs and courts exposed abuse, yet prices have risen dramatically, with Intellexa’s Predator spyware offered in 2022 at 8 million euros for up to 100 mobile phones.

It also highlights real‑world targeting, including in January 2025 when WhatsApp accused Paragon of targeting nearly 100 journalists and civil society members using a 0‑click exploit of WhatsApp’s automatic content preview feature.