Malwarebytes

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

Recent events have demonstrated very clearly just how persistent and wide-spread the Pegasus spyware is. The exploit chain based on these vulnerabilities was capable of compromising devices without any interaction from the victim and were reportedly used by the NSO Group to deliver its infamous Pegasus spyware.

Spyware 144

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Software 144

Security Affairs

APRIL 8, 2020

In October 2019, WhatsApp sued the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group accusing it of carrying out malicious attacks against its users. In May, Facebook has patched a critical zero-day vulnerability in WhatsApp, tracked as CVE-2019-3568 , that has been exploited to remotely install spyware on phones by calling the targeted device.

Surveillance 136

Surveillance Spyware Advertising Government 136

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Lookout researchers discovered two long-running surveillance campaigns targeting the ethnic minority Uyghurs. Researchers from mobile security firm Lookout uncovered two long-running surveillance campaigns targeting the Uyghurs minority. The malware is able to steal sensitive data, record audio, and download arbitrary files.

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Spyware Malware Mobile 98

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

The threat actors used by spyware to take over the target systems, spy on the victims, and exfiltrate data. “This unlawful surveillance violates the right to privacy and stifles freedom of expression.” The link points to files containing spyware that could infect both Mac OS or Windows systems. Pierluigi Paganini.

Spyware 128

Spyware Government Surveillance Phishing 128

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 30, 2022

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) linked three exploitation frameworks to a Spanish surveillance spyware vendor named Variston. While tracking the activities of commercial spyware vendors, Threat Analysis Group (TAG) spotted an exploitation framework likely linked Variston IT, a Spanish firm. ” TAG concludes.

Spyware 109

Spyware Surveillance Risk Internet 109

Security Affairs

MARCH 27, 2021

Researchers spotted a sophisticated Android spyware that implements exfiltration capabilities and surveillance features, including recording audio and phone calls. Experts from security firm Zimperium have spotted a new sophisticated Android spyware that masquerades itself as a System Update application. Pierluigi Paganini.

Spyware 117

Spyware Malware Surveillance Mobile 117

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 11, 2021

A Togolese human rights advocate was hit by mobile spyware that has been allegedly developed by an Indian firm called Innefu Labs. Experts believe the attackers used a spyware developed by an Indian company called Innefu Labs. In the past, the Donot Team spyware was found in attacks outside of South Asia.

Spyware 102

Spyware Surveillance Accountability Mobile 102

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 26, 2021

A threat actor, tracked as APT C-23, is using new powerful Android spyware in attacks aimed at targets in the Middle East. The APT C-23 cyberespionage group (also known as GnatSpy, FrozenCell, or VAMP) continues to target entities in the Middle East with enhanced Android spyware masqueraded as seemingly harmless app updates (i.e.

Spyware 119

Spyware Social Engineering Surveillance Engineering 119

Security Affairs

MAY 1, 2023

Researchers at the Lookout Threat Lab have discovered a new Android surveillance spyware, dubbed BouldSpy, that was used by the Law Enforcement Command of the Islamic Republic of Iran (FARAJA). However, much of the victim data points to its broader usage, which indicates targeted surveillance efforts towards minorities within Iran.”

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Malware Spyware Accountability 98

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 27, 2020

Experts from Amnesty International uncovered a surveillance campaign that targeted Egyptian civil society organizations with a new version of FinSpy spyware. The binaries are obfuscated and do some checks to detect if the spyware is running in a Virtual Machine. ” reads the Amnesty’s report.

Spyware 144

Spyware Surveillance Advertising Mobile 144

Security Affairs

JULY 20, 2023

China-linked group APT41 was spotted using two previously undocumented Android spyware called WyrmSpy and DragonEgg China-linked APT group APT41 has been observed using two previously undocumented Android spyware called WyrmSpy and DragonEgg. Upon installing the two spyware, they request extensive device permissions.

Spyware 98

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Malware 98

Security Boulevard

MARCH 24, 2025

Surveillance Tech in the News This section covers surveillance technology and methods in the news. These threat actors go to lengths to bury the actual commands used in malicious.LNK files which download malware onto the machine. Once executed, the script fetches the information stealing malware.

Surveillance 75

Surveillance Telecommunications Data breaches Malware 75

Malwarebytes

AUGUST 30, 2023

Anonymous hackers have breached the servers of spyware app “WebDetetive ” , accessing the user database. Spyware apps are installed on a potential victim’s phone without permission and lurk invisibly, collecting data and sending it back to the app operator. Use an antivirus on your phone.

Spyware 98

Spyware Mobile Antivirus Software 98

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 9, 2018

CheckPoint uncovered an extensive surveillance operation conducted by Iranian APT actor and tracked as Domestic Kitten aimed at specific groups of individuals. ” This means that the Domestic Kitten surveillance operation had collateral victims whose details were leaked from contact lists or conversations with the targets.

Surveillance 78

Surveillance Mobile Advertising Spyware 78

Security Boulevard

MARCH 17, 2025

Surveillance Tech in the News This section covers surveillance technology and methods in the news. Malware North Korean government hackers snuck spyware on Android app store TechCrunch APT threat actors associated with the North Korean government uploaded spyware "KoSpy" to Google Play.

Surveillance 59

Surveillance Data breaches Spyware Malware 59

SecureList

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

Except for the first-stage loader and the PipeShell plugin, all plugins are downloaded from the C2 and then loaded into memory, leaving no trace on disk. Each time the system restarts, or as required by the operation, P8 downloads additional plugins from the C2 or loads them from disk into memory.

Malware 117

Malware Government Software Spyware 117

Security Affairs

APRIL 17, 2020

Syrian-linked APT group SEA recently used COVID-19-themed lures as part of a long-running surveillance campaign, security researchers warn. AndoServer samples are purely surveillance software used to spy on the victims, while SLRat is as an Android remote admin tool. ” reads the analysis published by the Lookout.

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Surveillance Telecommunications Mobile Advertising 129

Malwarebytes

JANUARY 11, 2023

On Monday, the US Supreme Court denied the NSO Group's petition for a writ of certiorari , a request to the high court to review its case, signaling that Meta's WhatsApp can go ahead with its case against the Israeli-based company behind the Pegasus spyware. Keep threats off your devices by downloading Malwarebytes today.

Spyware 98

Spyware Surveillance Government Internet 98

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

The issue made the headline under another CVEs because it was actively exploited to deploy surveillance spyware, and it was tracked separately as CVE-2023-41064 and CVE-2023-4863. Rezilion researchers reported that the scope of this vulnerability is much wider than initially assumed. ” reads the analysis published by Rezilion.

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Spyware Surveillance Software Hacking 133

Malwarebytes

AUGUST 26, 2021

Researchers from Citizen Lab, an academic research and development lab based in the University of Toronto in Canada, has recently discovered that an exploit affecting iMessage is being used to target Bahraini activists with the Pegasus spyware. We saw the FORCEDENTRY exploit successfully deployed against iOS versions 14.4

Spyware 106

Spyware Surveillance Social Engineering Government 106

Schneier on Security

DECEMBER 24, 2019

ToTok, introduced only months ago, was downloaded millions of times from the Apple and Google app stores by users throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa and North America.

Government 193

Government Spyware Surveillance Malware 193

SecureWorld News

OCTOBER 21, 2022

A new version of the Android malware "FurBall" has been discovered to be used by the threat actor(s) known as Domestic Kitten in a campaign targeting Iranian citizens in a mobile surveillance operation. Though it has the Google Play logo, the app is not available in the Google Play store and downloads directly from Domestic Kitten's server.

Malware 98

Malware Spyware Government Surveillance 98

Security Boulevard

FEBRUARY 17, 2025

Surveillance Tech in the News This section covers surveillance technology and methods in the news. Google's reCAPTCHA is not only useless, it's also basically spyware Techspot This study demonstrates Google's reCAPTCHA v2 and v3 are flawed and don't actually keep out bots. Tips for finding old accounts. Magecart Attackers Abuse.

Surveillance 52

Surveillance Data breaches VPN Malware 52

Hackology

NOVEMBER 11, 2023

The emergence of Kamran spyware, targeting users of a regional news website, has raised concerns among cybersecurity experts. Distributed through a possible watering-hole attack on the Hunza News website , the spyware prompts users to grant permissions, allowing access to sensitive data.

Spyware 45

Spyware Malware Risk Mobile 45

Security Affairs

JANUARY 21, 2022

“The purpose of the implant is to facilitate the deployment of user-mode malware that stages execution of further payloads downloaded from the internet;” reads the analysis published by Kaspersky. A UEFI bootkit implanted in the firmware could not be detected by AVs and any defense solution running on the OS level.

Firmware 145

Firmware Malware Spyware Surveillance 145

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 24, 2020

The two apps were discovered by Palo Alto Networks, which identify them, along with other apps leaking data, using a machine learning (ML)-based spyware detection system. The two apps had a total of more than 6 million downloads at the time of their discovery.

Data collection 116

Data collection Mobile Spyware Surveillance 116

Security Affairs

APRIL 16, 2023

A new round of the weekly SecurityAffairs newsletter arrived! Every week the best security articles from Security Affairs are free for you in your email box.

Data breaches 98

Data breaches Spyware Surveillance Retail 98

SecureList

NOVEMBER 30, 2021

Based on forensic analysis of numerous mobile devices, Amnesty International’s Security Lab found that the software was repeatedly used in an abusive manner for surveillance. As part of the infection chain, Lazarus used a downloader named Racket, which they signed using a stolen certificate.

Malware 140

Malware Mobile Spyware Surveillance 140

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 24, 2023

0-days exploited by commercial surveillance vendor in Egypt PREDATOR IN THE WIRES OilRig’s Outer Space and Juicy Mix: Same ol’ rig, new drill pipes Cybersecurity Apple and Google Are Introducing New Ways to Defeat Cell Site Simulators, But Is it Enough?

Cyber Attacks 121

Cyber Attacks Firewall Data breaches Telecommunications 121

SecureWorld News

DECEMBER 23, 2020

Pegasus spyware is a phone surveillance solution that enables customers to remotely exploit and monitor devices. The company sells its surveillance technology to governments around the world. And watchdog groups say its products are often found to be used in surveillance abuses. Spyware attacks becoming harder to detect.

Spyware 54

Spyware Surveillance Hacking Media 54

Security Affairs

MAY 6, 2023

Twitter confirmed that a security incident publicly exposed Circle tweets FBI seized other domains used by the shadow eBook library Z-Library WordPress Advanced Custom Fields plugin XSS exposes +2M sites to attacks Fortinet fixed two severe issues in FortiADC and FortiOS Pro-Russia group NoName took down multiple France sites, including the French (..)

Data breaches 98

Data breaches Malware Mobile Spyware 98

Security Affairs

JULY 7, 2019

ViceLeaker Android spyware targets users in the Middle East. China installs a surveillance app on tourists phones while crossing in the Xinjiang. Updates for Samsung, the scam app with 10M+ downloads. Israeli blamed Russia for jamming at Israeli Ben Gurion airport. New variant of Dridex banking Trojan implements polymorphism.

Scams 68

Scams Advertising Spyware DNS 68

SecureWorld News

AUGUST 8, 2022

Cybercriminals often use malware to gain access to a computer or mobile device to deploy viruses, worms, Trojans, ransomware, spyware, and rootkits. MOUSEISLAND MOUSEISLAND is usually found within the embedded macros of a Microsoft Word document and can download other payloads. Qakbot can also be used to form botnets.

Malware 98

Malware Banking Penetration Testing Healthcare 98

Malwarebytes

APRIL 17, 2024

There are new relationships in which the rules around privacy and sharing are still being agreed upon, old relationships in which power imbalances are deeply entrenched, and, of course, abusive relationships in which non-consensual tracking and surveillance are used as levers of control. The man murdered his two children.

Risk 130

Risk Spyware Surveillance Cybersecurity 130

eSecurity Planet

OCTOBER 21, 2022

From facial recognition to surveillance cameras to time trackers or just having a couple guys standing over employees’ shoulders, there are a multitude of ways to make sure employees are staying on-task and being productive. Businesses have long wondered if employees are staying focused and doing their jobs.

Computers and Electronics 128

Computers and Electronics Surveillance Software Manufacturing 128

Hacker's King

MAY 20, 2023

Call forwarding, Botnets, Spyware: Securing Devices and Networks More sophisticated methods of bypassing 2FA involve compromising the user’s device. Additionally, using botnets or spyware can allow hackers to access the user’s device, monitor activities, and extract sensitive information, including 2FA codes.

Authentication 52

Authentication Social Engineering Spyware Engineering 52

The Security Ledger

MAY 14, 2019

An Israeli firm has exploited a flaw in the popular messaging mobile app WhatsApp to plant spyware on iPhones and Android. » Related Stories Report: Bad Bots sent One in Five Web Requests in 2018 Drive-By Malware Uses Google Sites for Drive by Download Attacks Mysterious Trisis Malware Strikes Again.

Spyware 40

Spyware Mobile Malware Software 40