US Lawmakers Seek Action Against Three India-Based Firms

A bipartisan group of US lawmakers has urged the Trump administration to take action against three India-based companies over allegations that they conducted hacking campaigns and stole data belonging to thousands of Americans and US companies. Democratic Senators Ron Wyden and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Republican Congressman Pat Harrigan, made the request in a letter to US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick.

The lawmakers identified the companies as Sunkissed Organic Farms Pvt. Ltd., BellTroX Pvt. Ltd. and CyberRoot Pvt. Ltd. They alleged that the firms had been involved in targeted espionage against US citizens, businesses and lawyers. According to the lawmakers, investigations cited in their letter have linked the companies to hacking campaigns targeting private equity firms, pharmaceutical companies and more than 1,000 attorneys at major US law firms. They have called for the three firms to be added to the Commerce Department’s Entity List, which would restrict their access to US software, cloud infrastructure and cybersecurity tools.