The United States has become the world’s largest investor in the computer surveillance software industry, according to a new report by the Atlantic Council. The report, “Mythical Beasts: Diving into the depths of the global spyware market,” reveals a surge in US-based investment in “surveillanceware,” a type of software that facilitates unauthorized remote access to devices for surveillance or data extraction [2].

The report highlights two key findings.first, the number of US-based investors in spyware has significantly increased in the past year. While the United States was the second-largest investor, behind Israel, in the first “Mythical Beasts” project, the new study identifies twenty new US-based investors in the spyware industry in 2024. This increase has propelled the United States to the top of the list, outpacing investment from countries like Italy, Israel, and the United Kingdom.

Second, the report emphasizes the critical role of resellers and brokers in the spyware market. These entities act as intermediaries, often obscuring the connections between vendors, suppliers, and buyers. They connect vendors to new regional markets, but their activities are frequently enough underreported and not