Articles about Spyware

WhatsApp has addressed a serious security flaw in certain versions of its app. The vulnerability was a zero-click exploit, which the company says was being used to target specific users.

No details have been provided about those who were being targeted, so it is not clear whether they are celebrities, people linked to businesses, or something else. What is interesting, however, is the fact that it was Apple users who had been single out.

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With elections across the world, there is a tremendous amount of attention placed on the threat posed by AI and digital misinformation. However, one threat we need to have more focus on is spyware.

Spyware has already been used by nation states and governments during elections to surveil political opponents and journalists. For example, the government of Madagascar has been accused of using the technology to conduct widespread surveillance ahead of its elections.

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A new, rapidly evolving, series of spyware campaigns attacking more than 2,000 industrial enterprises around the world has been uncovered by experts at Kaspersky.

Although the malware used in these attacks belongs to well-known commodity spyware families, they stand out from the mainstream due to the very limited number of targets in each attack -- no more than a few dozen -- and the very short lifetime of each malicious sample.

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Spyware produce by the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group has been abused by governments to target dissenting journalists, activists, lawyers and more, an investigation by human rights groups and media organizations has found.

The Pegasus spyware was produced with the intention of targeting terrorists and other criminals, but an investigation into a huge data leak shows that it has also be misused by authoritarian governments to gather text message, photos, call logs and more from iPhones and Android handsets. The malware can also be used to acti8vate the microphone of a targeted device to eavesdrop on conversations. Targets includes not only journalists and activists, but also key business figures, members of government, presidents and prime ministers.

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Researchers at mobile device security company Lookout have uncovered a new strain of spyware targeting iOS and Android users in multiple Asian countries.

Called Goontact, it targets users lured to illicit sites and steals personal information stored on their mobile devices in order to carry out sextortion scams.

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Security researchers from Palo Alto Networks have discovered that apps produced by Chinese firm Baidu have been leaking sensitive data about users.

Baidu Search Box and Baidu Maps -- which have been downloaded more than six millions times in the US alone -- were found to be sending details such as MAC addresses, phone models, IMSI and IMEI to a server in China. The researchers warned Google about the activity of the Android apps which were then removed from the Play Store.

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Research published by security firms Trend Micro and Kaspersky reveals details of a watering-hole campaign targeting iPhone users.

Dubbed Operation Poisoned News, the campaign used malicious links on local news websites to install the LightSpy malware. Hackers have been exploiting vulnerabilities in iOS to install the spyware which can gather huge amounts of information and can also be used to take remote control of a device.

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When you install an antivirus program -- even a free one -- you have a reasonable assumption that it's going to help keep your data safe.

But a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag has discovered that Avast's free antivirus is harvesting user data. Although this is supposedly 'de-identified' it is being sold to marketers in a way that can be linked back to an individual.

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Ever since I installed one of those wireless "home automation kits," my house has been acting like it’s possessed. My lights dim randomly. My thermostat changes temperature settings on its own. And my digital door lock keeps "forgetting" I live here, prompting me to fumble for my keys (it always seems to be raining when this happens).

Just yesterday I came home to find my so-called "Smart TV" had somehow turned itself on and was streaming some weird foreign language content (the source it chose was "RT" -- or something like that). I changed the channel to "CNN" and went to the kitchen to make a snack. However, just as I began slicing open a fresh baguette, I heard that same foreign language stream playing. I then rushed back to the living room only to find the TV still tuned to "CNN."

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China's track record with privacy violations, control of the internet and control of its citizens is well known. But now anyone who has ever visited the country has cause for concern.

Enter China via the border crossing between Xinjiang and Kyrgyzstan, and you're required to hand over your phone -- unlocked. This would obviously lead the owner to expect a little rooting around by officials, but an investigation has found that border officials are actually installing secret spy apps on iPhones and Android phones to scour emails, texts and other data stored on devices.

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Users of WhatsApp could be infected by dangerous spyware just by receiving a call. The spyware, which is thought to  originate from Israeli cyber intelligence firm NSO Group, can be installed just by calling a target -- there is no need for the call to be answered.

A security advisory on the Facebook website does not go into much detail about the exploit, which takes advantage of a buffer overflow vulnerability. WhatsApp says it was discovered earlier this month, and with 1.5 billion users, there are a huge number of people that are potentially affected.

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