Security Affairs

JUNE 22, 2020

Researchers at Amnesty International collected evidence that a Moroccan journalist was targeted with network injection attacks using NSO Group ‘s spyware. “Through our investigation we were able to confirm that his phone was targeted and put under surveillance during the same period he was prosecuted.”

Spyware 144

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Advertising 144

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 9, 2022

Google Project Zero researchers reported that a surveillance vendor is using three Samsung phone zero-day exploits. Google Project Zero disclosed three Samsung phone vulnerabilities, tracked as CVE-2021-25337, CVE-2021-25369 and CVE-2021-25370, that have been exploited by a surveillance company. ” reported the advisory.

Surveillance 128

Surveillance Spyware Mobile Manufacturing 128

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 6, 2022

One of the Apple iOS zero-day flaws exploited by the NSO group was also used by another surveillance firm named QuaDream. One of the vulnerabilities in Apple iOS that was previously exploited by the spyware developed by the Israeli company NSO Group was also separately used by another surveillance firm named QuaDream.

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Spyware Government Hacking 98

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

Malwarebytes

MAY 1, 2025

Government-backed groups and customers of commercial surveillance vendors (that’s sanitized corporate-speak for spyware) were responsible for over half the attacks that the researchers were able to attribute. Spyware continues to be a much bigger factor in zero-day exploits today than it was before 2023.

Spyware 91

Spyware Mobile Technology Government 91

Security Affairs

AUGUST 24, 2021

Citizen Lab uncovered a new zero-click iMessage exploit that was used to deploy the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on devices belonging to Bahraini activists. Researchers from Citizen Lab spotted a zero-click iMessage exploit that was used to deploy NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on Bahraini activists’ devices.

Spyware 98

Spyware Surveillance Hacking Mobile 98

Malwarebytes

APRIL 21, 2022

” John Scott-Railton recalled after finding out on July 7, 2020 that Pegasus, the highly sophisticated flagship spyware of Israel’s NSO Group, was used to infect a phone linked to the network at 10 Downing Street, the UK Prime Minister’s home and office. “When we found the No. 10 case, my jaw dropped.”

Spyware 136

Spyware Government Hacking Surveillance 136

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

Apple has filed suit to ban the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group and parent company Q Cyber Technologies from using its product and services. federal court for illegally targeting its customers with the surveillance spyware Pegasus. Apple has sued NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber Technologies in a U.S.

Spyware 100

Spyware Surveillance Software Hacking 100

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

eSecurity Planet

JULY 21, 2021

Reports that the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware was used by governments to spy on Apple iPhones used by journalists, activists, government officials and business executives is becoming a global controversy for NSO, Apple and a number of governments at the center of the scandal. The impact of the burgeoning scandal continues to ripple.

Spyware 125

Spyware Mobile Government Surveillance 125

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

SecureWorld News

JULY 18, 2022

The controversial Pegasus spyware continues to stay in the news cycle, as a new report from the Citizen Lab details how the technology was used to target pro-democracy activists in Thailand. The current Thai government was not exactly thrilled by this and responded with a wave of arrests and increased surveillance dramatically.

Spyware 98

Spyware Surveillance Government Hacking 98

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 21, 2020

The attackers used an exploit chain named Kismet that was part of the arsenal of the controversial Pegasus spyware that is sold by the surveillance firm NSO Group. In July 2020, KISMET was a zero-day against at least iOS 13.5.1 ” reads the report published by the researchers. and could hack Apple’s then-latest iPhone 11.

Hacking 142

Hacking Surveillance Spyware Government 142

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 24, 2019

The Sweden government is going to authorize the use of spyware on suspects’ devices to spy on their communications and track them. It aims to give the police the opportunity to better execute secret surveillance and for example also access the encrypted communication.”

Spyware 75

Spyware Government Surveillance Encryption 75

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 13, 2021

In August, researchers from Citizen Lab spotted a zero-click iMessage exploit that was used to deploy NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on Bahraini activists’ devices. We identified nine Bahraini activists whose iPhones were successfully hacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware between June 2020 and February 2021.

Spyware 111

Spyware Surveillance Hacking Mobile 111

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 5, 2023

“The document said the exploit worked for Android versions 9 to 11, which was released in 2020, and that it took advantage of a flaw in the “image rendering library.” In 2020 and 2021, WhatsApp fixed three vulnerabilities — CVE-2020-1890, CVE-2020-1910, and CVE-2021-24041— that all involved how the app processes images.

Mobile 140

Mobile Marketing Spyware Surveillance 140

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. In 2020, Citizen Lab named KISMET , a then 0-day exploit against iPhone iOS version 13.5.1

Spyware 113

Spyware Surveillance Social Engineering Government 113

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 30, 2019

The Assembly would set up a committee of international experts in 2020 that will be tasked with elaborating “a comprehensive international convention on countering the use of information and communications technologies for criminal purposes.” It will only serve to stifle global efforts to combat cybercrime.”

Cybercrime 94

Cybercrime Surveillance Spyware Government 94

Security Affairs

JUNE 11, 2021

.” In December 2020, researchers from Citizen Lab reported that at least 36 employees of the Qatari news channel were targeted in a cyber espionage campaign leveraging a zero-click iOS zero-day vulnerability to hack their iPhones. In June 2017, the Qatari news channel announced that all its systems were under a large-scale cyber attack.

Cyber Attacks 138

Cyber Attacks Media Hacking Spyware 138

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. 19, 2020, while Baidu Maps remains unavailable globally.” 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

AUGUST 28, 2020

22, 2020, in Los Angeles and had his initial appearance before U.S. According to the complaint and statements made in court, from about July 15, 2020 to about Aug. 22, 2020, Kriuchkov conspired with associates to recruit an employee of a company to introduce malware.”. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 27, 2020.

Malware 145

Malware Surveillance Hacking Spyware 145

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 14, 2021

COMB breach: 3.2B COMB breach: 3.2B

Data breaches 111

Data breaches Spyware Phishing Surveillance 111

Threatpost

SEPTEMBER 17, 2020

The official app store is taking on spy- and surveillance-ware, along with apps that could be used to mount political-influence campaigns.

Surveillance 111

Surveillance Spyware Mobile Malware 111

SecureList

NOVEMBER 28, 2024

Epeius is a commercial spyware tool developed by an Italian company that claims to provide intelligence solutions to law enforcement agencies and governments. The second, an article published in 2024 by the Google Threat Analysis Group, described the business model of various companies that provide commercial surveillance solutions.

Malware 119

Malware Government Software Spyware 119

Security Affairs

JANUARY 10, 2021

To best understand the scale of the problem, let’s look into some recently notified, large organisation security breaches, reported over a four-week period between 20 th November and 17 th December 2020. 20 th Nov 2020 – Manchester United Football Club ( www.manutd.com ). 30 th November 2020 – Embrear ( www.embrear.com ).

Cyber Attacks 125

Cyber Attacks Government Surveillance Software 125

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. Further analysis revealed that this escalation of privilege (EoP) exploit had potentially been used in the wild since at least November 2020.

Malware 140

Malware Mobile Spyware Surveillance 140

SecureList

APRIL 27, 2021

During routine monitoring of detections for FinFisher spyware tools, we discovered traces that point to recent FinFly Web deployments. One of the suspected FinFly Web servers was active for more than a year between October 2019 and December 2020. The activities peaked in November 2020, but are still ongoing.

Malware 145

Malware Government Spyware Social Engineering 145

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. A 2020 LokiBot variant was disguised as a launcher for the Fortnite multiplayer video game. Qakbot can also be used to form botnets. Remcos installs a backdoor onto a target system.

Malware 98

Malware Banking Penetration Testing Healthcare 98

Malwarebytes

MAY 10, 2022

In 2020, the European Commission initiated temporary legislation which allows the searching of all private chats, messages, and emails for illegal depictions of minors and attempted initiation of contact with minors. It is also a step back when it comes to cybersecurity.

Encryption 101

Encryption Surveillance Artificial Intelligence Spyware 101

eSecurity Planet

MARCH 27, 2023

“A number of factors may have contributed to the zero-day count in 2020 dipping, then quadrupling in 2021,” researchers James Sadowski and Casey Charrier wrote. Going forward, Mandiant expects the trend for zero-day exploitation to continue to rise.

Firewall 104

Firewall Internet Internet Telecommunications 104

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 127

Computers and Electronics Surveillance Software Manufacturing 127

SecureList

MARCH 13, 2024

In most countries around the world, use of stalkerware is currently not prohibited, but installing a surveillance application on another person’s smartphone without their consent is illegal and punishable. Nevertheless, iPhone users fearing surveillance should always keep a close eye on their device.

Mobile 109

Mobile Passwords Surveillance Technology 109

SecureList

NOVEMBER 14, 2023

The threat actor used news about the Russo-Ukrainian conflict to trick targets into opening harmful emails that exploited the vulnerabilities (CVE-2020-35730, CVE-2020-12641 and CVE-2021-44026). This politician became the target of a previously undiscovered “zero-day” attack aimed at infecting his phone with spyware.

Hacking 142

Hacking Energy and Utilities Malware Media 142

SecureList

MARCH 8, 2023

Other types of monitoring or spyware apps that fall outside of the Coalition’s definition are not included in the report statistics. iPhone users fearing surveillance should always keep an eye on their device. This means that the affected number of users have been targeted by stalkerware only.

Mobile 124

Mobile Software Accountability Cybersecurity 124

Schneier on Security

JULY 19, 2022

We forensically confirmed that at least 30 individuals were infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. The observed infections took place between October 2020 and November 2021. We discovered an extensive espionage campaign targeting Thai pro-democracy protesters, and activists calling for reforms to the monarchy. More details.

Spyware 243

Spyware Surveillance Government Hacking 243

SecureList

OCTOBER 26, 2021

ReconHellcat is a little-known threat actor that was spotted publicly in 2020. During 2020 and 2021, we detected a new ShadowPad loader module, dubbed ShadowShredder, used against critical infrastructure across multiple countries, including but not limited to India, China, Canada, Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Malware 145

Malware Government Surveillance Spyware 145

SecureList

NOVEMBER 17, 2021

In 2020, we predicted that governments would adopt a “name and shame” strategy to draw attention to the activities of hostile APT groups, a trend that has evolved even more in the last year. The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have claimed that threat actors have been using catfishing to lure Israeli soldiers into installing spyware.

Mobile 145

Mobile Surveillance Ransomware Government 145