my colleague maher bitar, who serves as coordinator for intelligence and defense policy at the white house, and i co-moderated a panel at the , summit that brought together ministers from countries, journalists, civil society and private sector experts like representatives from the investor community, to discuss the importance of exposing the misuse of commercial spyware , and protecting human rights defenders. the generalists talked about the fear for their loved ones who faced profound risks to their safety and security. their comments reflected what i have heard over and over again as i have had the honor of meeting with heroic journalists and human rights defenders from around the world who have been victims of online attacks. they described the chilling effect that commercial spyware intrusions have had on their ability to continue their reporting and their activism. the isolation they faced from colleagues and counterparts now fear any contract with them. one prominent russian journalist has publicly described an intrusion by commercial spyware as feeling like she was stripped