Victim of private spyware warns it can be used against US

By NOMAAN MERCHANT
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — First, her father was lured back to Rwanda under false pretenses and jailed. Then, months later, Carine Kanimba discovered her own phone had been hacked using private spyware. She’s the youngest daughter of Paul Rusesabagina, who’s credited with saving more than 1,200 lives during the 1994 Rwandan genocide in a story that inspired the movie “Hotel Rwanda.” He’s also an opponent of Rwanda’s president and is now serving a 25-year prison sentence on charges he’s dismissed as politically motivated. His daughter and technology experts want Congress to oppose the use of commercial spyware in the United States. And they want to discourage investment in spyware that’s been used to hack the phones of dissidents, journalists, and even American diplomats.