Cybersecurity companies focus on the role of 'stalkerware' in domestic abuse

Yesterday marked the start of not just Cybersecurity Awareness Month but also Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

Domestic abusers often make use of stalkerware (commercial spyware used as a tool for domestic espionage) to leverage their partner's digital footprint for physical control.

Yet it's a grey area for the cybersecurity industry as many of these applications are available on legitimate platforms and are marketed as harmless child-monitoring software.

New research from Kaspersky has found that installation attempts increased in 2019 by 35 percent to 37,000. Also the threat landscape for stalkerware has widened, as Kaspersky has discovered 380 variants of stalkerware in the wild in 2019 -- 31 percent up on a year ago.

"We have done a lot to increase the stalkerware detection capabilities of our products in the last few months, and will continue to do so alongside other industry players as we support the fight against stalkers," says Vladimir Kuskov, security expert at Kaspersky. "But there are still problems to solve. For instance, to find and agree on a definition of stalkerware that can be acknowledged by everybody in the industry. This would help distinguish such software better, and therefore better protect users from abusers of their privacy."

You can see the full Kaspersky State of Stalkerware in 2019 report on the company's website.

Malwarebytes is also committed to combating the stalkerware threat. For over five years, the company has been committed to eradicating stalkerware by doubling intelligence and detection capabilities. It has also been working with local nonprofits, advocacy groups, law enforcement and attorney generals on how to protect against stalkerware threats.

Throughout October it will be sharing a series of articles on how individuals and organizations can do their part to better understand this threat and the ways it can be used to endanger people’s safety. You can see the first article here.

Image credit: Arman Zhenikeyev/Shutterstock