126 matches found
FTC Bans Stalkerware App SpyFone; Orders Company to Erase Secretly Stolen Data
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday banned a stalkerware app company called SpyFone from the surveillance business over concerns that it stealthily harvested and shared data on people's physical movements, phone use, and online activities that were then used by stalkers and domestic...
FTC bans SpyFone and its CEO from continuing to sell stalkerware
Nearly two years after the US Federal Trade Commission first took aim against mobile apps that can non-consensually track people’s locations and pry into their emails, photos, and videos, the government agency placed restrictions Wednesday on the developers of SpyFone—which the FTC called a...
Google Play sign-ins can be abused to track another person’s movements
Even people that have been involved in cybersecurity for over 20 years make mistakes. I’m not sure whether that is a comforting thought for anyone or whether everyone should be worried now. But it is what it is and I make it a habit of owning my mistakes. So here goes. With the aid of Google I wa...
Stalkerware Apps Riddled with Security Bugs
Android stalkerware apps – used to surreptitiously track people’s movements and digital activities – turn out to themselves be rife with security holes that put victims in even danger. Stalkerware can track the GPS location of a victim’s device, record conversations, capture images and snoop on...
Experts Reveal Over 150 Ways to Steal Control of 58 Android Stalkerware Apps
A total of 158 privacy and security issues have been identified in 58 Android stalkware apps from various vendors that could enable a malicious actor to take control of a victim's device, hijack a stalker's account, intercept data, achieve remote code execution, and even frame the victim by...
A week in security (April 19 – 25)
Last week on Malwarebytes Labs, we interviewed Youssef Sammouda, a 21-year-old bug bounty hunter who is focused on finding vulnerabilities on Facebook. We looked into the CodeCov supply-chain attack, the vulnerabilities in Pulse Secure VPN that are being actively exploited by attackers, and the...
Android “System Update” malware steals photos, videos, GPS location
A newly discovered piece of Android malware shares the same capabilities found within many modern stalkerware-type apps—it can swipe images and video, rifle through online searches, record phone calls and video, and peer into GPS location data—but the infrastructure behind the malware obscures it...
Safe Connections Act could help domestic abuse survivors take control of their digital lives
A bill introduced in the US Senate could help domestic abuse and sex trafficking survivors—including those tracked by stalkerware-type applications—regain digital independence through swift, shared phone plan termination and the extension of mobile phone plan subsidies. Titled the Safe Connection...
TinyCheck: Stalkerware detection that doesn’t leave a trace
In 2019, when Malwarebytes helped found the Coalition Against Stalkerware, which brings together cybersecurity vendors and nonprofits to detect and raise awareness about stalkerware, we encountered a significant roadblock in our fight: For some users, the very detection of these potentially...
Stalkerware Volumes Remain Concerningly High, Despite Bans
Tens of thousands of mobile users were infected by the class of software known generically as stalkerware last year. According to just-published research by Kaspersky, 2020 lockdowns related to the global COVID-19 pandemic put a damper on installations, but the scourge of privacy-busting software...
The state of stalkerware in 2020
The state of stalkerware in 2020 PDF Main findings Kasperskys data shows that the scale of the stalkerware issue has not improved much in 2020 compared to the last year: The number of people affected is still high. In total, 53,870 of our mobile users were affected globally by stalkerware in 2020...
Extortion, precision malware, and ruthless scams. Read the State of Malware 2021 report
Last year, threat actors took advantage of the COVID-19 public health crisis in a way previously considered unimaginable, not only preying on uncertainty and fear during the initial months of the global pandemic, but retooling attack methods, reneging on promises, strengthening malware, and...
Florida Ethics Officer Charged with Cyberstalking
A Tallahassee city ethics officer was arrested and charged with cyberstalking her coworker and former lover, and is now banned by a judge from using the internet for anything besides work, paying bills and her legal defense. Julie Meadows-Keef is accused of cyberstalking Bert Fletcher, the...
IT threat evolution Q3 2020 Mobile statistics
The statistics presented here draw on detection verdicts returned by Kaspersky products and received from users who consented to providing statistical data. Quarterly figures According to Kaspersky Security Network, the third quarter saw: 1,189 797 detected malicious installers, of which 39,051...
Google Play Bans Stalkerware and 'Misrepresentation'
Google is taking the step of prohibiting “stalkerware” in Google Play, along with apps that could be used in political-influence campaigns. Effective October 1, apps that would allow someone to surreptitiously track the location or online activity of another person will be removed from the intern...
Lock and Code S1Ep14: Uncovering security hubris with Adam Kujawa
This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs and around the Internet. In addition, we talk to Adam Kujawa, security evangelist and director of Malwarebytes Labs, about "security hubris," the simple phenomenon in which businesses are less secure th...
Good news: Stalkerware survey results show majority of people aren’t creepy
Back in July, we sent out a survey to Malwarebytes Labs readers on the subject of stalkerware—the term used to describe apps that can potentially invade someone’s privacy. We asked one question: “Have you ever used an app to monitor your partner’s phone?” The results were reassuring. We received...
NSA Warns Smartphones Leak Location Data
Mobile devices expose location data in more ways than most people know, and turning off services such as Find My Phone, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth can help mitigate tracking, but are no silver bullet that prevents a third party from tracking users. That’s advice shared by U.S. top spy division, the...
Lock and Code S1Ep11: Locating concerns of Bluetooth and beacon technology with Chris Boyd
This week on Lock and Code, we discuss the top security headlines generated right here on Labs and around the Internet. In addition, we talk to Chris Boyd, lead malware intelligence analyst for Malwarebytes, about Bluetooth and beacon technology. Last month, cybersecurity experts warned the publi...
