Security Affairs

MAY 29, 2023

Cisco Talos and the Citizen Lab researchers have published a technical analysis of the powerful Android spyware Predator. Security researchers at Cisco Talos and the Citizen Lab have shared technical details about a commercial Android spyware named Predator that is sold by the surveillance firm Intellexa (formerly known as Cytrox).

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Security Affairs

APRIL 11, 2024

Apple is warning iPhone users in over 90 countries of targeted mercenary spyware attacks, Reuters agency reported. Apple is alerting iPhone users in 92 countries about mercenary spyware attacks, reported Reuters. Reuters only mentioned India as one of the countries where users were targeted by the attacks.

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Spyware Mobile Government Hacking 90

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.

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Spyware Surveillance Mobile Malware 84

Security Affairs

APRIL 27, 2024

ThreatFabric researchers identified a new Android malware called Brokewell, which implements a wide range of device takeover capabilities. ThreatFabric researchers uncovered a new mobile malware named Brokewell, which is equipped with sophisticated device takeover features. ” reads the report published by ThreatFabric.

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Malware Spyware Authentication Mobile 107

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 7, 2023

Citizen Lab reported that the actively exploited zero-days fixed by Apple are being used in Pegasus spyware attacks Researchers at Citizen Lab reported that the actively exploited zero-day flaws (CVE-2023-41064 and CVE-2023-41061) fixed by Apple are being used to infect devices with NSO Group ’s Pegasus spyware.

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Spyware Accountability Hacking Mobile 112

Security Affairs

JULY 19, 2022

Researchers spotted previously undocumented spyware, dubbed CloudMensis, that targets the Apple macOS systems. The malware was designed to spy on the target systems, exfiltrate documents, acquire keystrokes, and screen captures. Experts have yet to determine how the victims are initially compromised by this spyware.

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Security Affairs

JUNE 16, 2023

An updated version of the Android remote access trojan GravityRAT can steal WhatsApp backup files and can delete files ESET researchers discovered an updated version of Android GravityRAT spyware that steals WhatsApp backup files and can delete files. The malware is distributed as the messaging apps BingeChat and Chatico.

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Backups Spyware Malware Accountability 93

Security Affairs

MARCH 3, 2023

The phone of an opposition-linked Polish mayor was infected with the powerful Pegasus spyware, local media reported. Reuters reported that the phone of an opposition-linked Polish mayor was infected with the Pegasus spyware. According to rumors, the Polish special services are using surveillance software to spy on government opponents.

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Spyware Surveillance Hacking Government 91

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

The iPhone of a prominent Russian journalist, who is at odds with Moscow, was infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. The iPhone of the Russian journalist Galina Timchenko was compromised with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. The threat actors used a zero-click exploit, likely the PWNYOURHOME. ” reported Citizen Lab.

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Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

Citizen Lab and Google’s TAG revealed that the three recently patched Apple zero-days were used to install Cytrox Predator spyware. Apple this week released emergency security updates to address three new zero-day vulnerabilities (CVE-2023-41993, CVE-2023-41991, CVE-2023-41992) that have been exploited in attacks in the wild.

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Security Affairs

AUGUST 30, 2023

The malware distributed by the nation-state actors is Android BadBazaar , which has been previously employed in attacks aimed at Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic minorities. The campaigns observed by the researchers are likely active since July 2020 and since July 2022, respectively. org) and a Telegram alternative app (flygram[.]org).”

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Spyware Accountability Malware Hacking 115

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.

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Spyware Malware Surveillance Mobile 105

Security Affairs

JANUARY 28, 2022

Finland Ministry for Foreign Affairs revealed that devices of Finnish diplomats have been infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs revealed that the devices of some Finnish diplomats have been compromised with the infamous NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Spyware Surveillance Mobile Risk 85

Security Affairs

JULY 19, 2021

Pegasus Project investigation into the leak of 50,000 phone numbers of potential surveillance targets revealed the abuse of NSO Group’s spyware. Pegasus Project is the name of a large-scale investigation into the leak of 50,000 phone numbers of potential surveillance targets that revealed the abuse of NSO Group’s spyware.

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Spyware Government Surveillance Media 115

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 11, 2022

Researchers from mobile security firm Lookout uncovered two long-running surveillance campaigns targeting the Uyghurs minority. The threat actors behind the campaigns used two Android spyware to spy on the victims and steal sensitive information. Bazar is a lesser known spelling of Bazaar.” List of installed packages.

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Surveillance Spyware Malware Mobile 92

Security Affairs

APRIL 17, 2023

The Israeli surveillance firm QuaDream is allegedly shutting down its operations after Citizen Lab and Microsoft uncovered their spyware. Last week Citizen Lab researchers reported that at least five civil society members were victims of spyware and exploits developed by the Israeli surveillance firm QuaDream. and 14.4.2,

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Surveillance Spyware Education Media 85

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 16, 2020

Security experts spotted a new malware strain, named Goontact, that allows its operators to spy on both Android and iOS users. Security researchers from Lookout have discovered new spyware, dubbed Goontcat, that could target both Android and iOS users. The spyware is likely used as part of a sextortion campaign.

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Spyware Mobile Surveillance Malware 113

Security Affairs

AUGUST 2, 2022

Austria is investigating a report that an Austrian firm DSIRF developed spyware targeting law firms, banks and consultancies. Microsoft states that multiple news reports have linked the company to the Subzero malware toolset used to hack a broad range of devices, phones, computers, and network and internet-connected devices.

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Spyware Surveillance Banking Hacking 89

Security Affairs

JANUARY 21, 2022

Researchers spotted several spyware campaigns targeting industrial enterprises to steal credentials and conduct financial fraud. Researchers from Kaspersky Lab have uncovered multiple spyware campaigns that target industrial firms to steal email account credentials and carry out fraudulent activities. ” concludes the report.

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Spyware Accountability Social Engineering Phishing 88

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.

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Spyware Surveillance Risk Internet 101

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 10, 2022

I transcribed a recent interview, here some questions and answers about nation-state hacking, spyware, and cyber warfare. Enjoy” How has spyware changed the rules of cyber security in recent years? What will cyber security look like now that those tools are all over the internet? Anyway, it is not the only one.

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Security Affairs

JUNE 17, 2022

Experts uncovered an enterprise-grade surveillance malware dubbed Hermit used to target individuals in Kazakhstan, Syria, and Italy since 2019. Lookout Threat Lab researchers uncovered enterprise-grade Android surveillance spyware, named Hermit, used by the government of Kazakhstan to track individuals within the country.

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Spyware Surveillance Telecommunications Mobile 79

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

Lookout researchers provided details about two Android spyware families employed by an APT group tracked as Confucius. Researchers at mobile security firm Lookout have provided details about two recently discovered Android spyware families, dubbed Hornbill and SunBird, used by an APT group named Confucius.

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Spyware Surveillance Malware Mobile 112

Security Affairs

JUNE 7, 2023

June 2023 security update for Android released by Google fixes about fifty flaws, including an Arm Mali GPU bug exploited by surveillance firms in their spyware. The June 2023 Android Security Bulletin provides details about the fix for more than fifty vulnerabilities affecting Android devices. In early April, U.S.

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Spyware Surveillance Firmware Hacking 86

Security Affairs

MAY 1, 2023

Iranian authorities have been spotted using the BouldSpy Android malware to spy on minorities and traffickers. 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). continues the report.

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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.

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Spyware Surveillance Hacking Mobile 98

Security Affairs

JULY 9, 2023

Researchers from cybersecurity firm Pradeo discovered two malicious apps on Google Play hinding spyware and spying on up to 1.5 The researchers noticed that both app perform more than a hundred transmissions of the collected data, which is unusual for modern spyware. Two apps on the Google Play Store with more than 1.5 million users.

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Spyware Mobile Media Hacking 97

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.

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Spyware Social Engineering Surveillance Engineering 95

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 23, 2021

Apple has released security updates to address three zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in attacks in the wild to compromise iPhones and Macs running vulnerable iOS and macOS versions. Apple confirmed that at least one of the flaws was exploited by threat actors to infect the device with the NSO Pegasus spyware. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Security Affairs

JUNE 1, 2023

Researchers discovered spyware, dubbed SpinOk, hidden in 101 Android apps with over 400 million downloads in Google Play. Upon executing the module, the malware-laced SDK connects to the C2 sending back a large amount of system information about the infected device. Info sent to the C2 includes data from sensors (e.g.

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Spyware Advertising Malware Marketing 88

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 2, 2022

Threat actors are using previously undocumented Android spyware, dubbed SandStrike, to spy on a Persian-speaking religion minority. In Q3 2022, Kaspersky researchers uncovered a previously undocumented Android spyware, dubbed SandStrike, employed in an espionage campaign targeting the Persian-speaking religion minority, Bahá?í.

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Spyware Malware VPN Accountability 103

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. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Spyware Surveillance Accountability Mobile 85

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 24, 2021

federal court for illegally targeting its customers with the surveillance spyware Pegasus. The complaint provides new information on how NSO Group infected victims’ devices with its Pegasus spyware. Apple has sued NSO Group and its parent company Q Cyber Technologies in a U.S. ” reads the announcement published by Apple.

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Spyware Surveillance Software Hacking 87

Security Affairs

JULY 21, 2021

Check Point Research (CPR) experts have spotted a cheap malware, dubbed XLoader variant, which was upgraded to target both Windows and macOS PCs. XLoader is a very cheap malware strain that is based on the popular Formbook Windows malware. Thus, a “Malware-as-a-Service” scheme is used. ” continues the report.

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Spyware Malware Cybercrime Advertising 101

Security Affairs

MARCH 29, 2023

Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) discovered several exploit chains targeting Android, iOS, and Chrome to install commercial spyware. The exploit chains were used to install commercial spyware and malicious apps on targets’ devices. The experts pointed out that both campaigns were limited and highly targeted.

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Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 24, 2021

The threat actors used by spyware to take over the target systems, spy on the victims, and exfiltrate data. The link points to files containing spyware that could infect both Mac OS or Windows systems. Kerrdown downloads and installs additional spyware from a server on the victim’s system, then it opens a decoy document.

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Spyware Surveillance Government Phishing 89

Security Affairs

JUNE 2, 2022

An international law enforcement operation involving 11 countries resulted in the takedown of the FluBot Android malware. An international law enforcement operation involving 11 countries led to the takedown of the infamous FluBot Android malware. SecurityAffairs – hacking, Android malware). Pierluigi Paganini.

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Spyware Malware Banking Cybercrime 89