Security Affairs

JANUARY 9, 2022

The US NCSC and the Department of State published joint guidance on defending against attacks using commercial surveillance tools. In the last years, we have reported several cases of companies selling commercial surveillance tools to governments and other entities that have used them for malicious purposes. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Surveillance Mobile Spyware Malware 145

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 22, 2024

Security Affairs Malware newsletter includes a collection of the best articles and research on malware in the international landscape.

Malware 72

Malware Spyware Surveillance Cybercrime 72

Security Affairs

JULY 12, 2020

Google announced that starting from August it will update its policies to reject ads proposed by organizations offering surveillance software. The move aims at fighting the advertising of any form of surveillance. The tech giant announced that the update will be effective starting from August 11, 2020. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Surveillance Spyware Advertising Marketing 141

Security Affairs

MARCH 20, 2025

The archive contains a fake PDF report and DarkTortilla malware, which acts as a launcher for the Dark Crystal RAT ( DCRat ). The modular architecture of the malware allows to extend its functionalities for multiple malicious purposes, including surveillance, reconnaissance, information theft, DDoS attacks, and arbitrary code execution.

Computers and Electronics 123

Computers and Electronics Telecommunications Malware Surveillance 123

Security Affairs

MARCH 10, 2021

A group of hackers claimed to have compromised more than 150,000 surveillance cameras at banks, jails, schools, and prominent companies like Tesla and Equinox. A group of US hackers claimed to have gained access to footage from 150,000 security cameras at banks, jails, schools, healthcare clinics, and prominent organizations.

Surveillance 144

Surveillance Hacking Banking Firmware 144

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 14, 2020

Earlier this month, German authorities have raided the offices of FinFisher, the German surveillance software firm, accused of providing its software to oppressive regimes. The post German authorities raid the offices of the FinFisher surveillance firm appeared first on Security Affairs. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Surveillance Spyware Advertising Software 137

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 8, 2021

Iran-linked APT group Domestic Kitten, also tracked as APT-C-50, has been conducting widespread surveillance targeting over 1,000 individuals. Both groups have conducted long-running cyber-attacks and intrusive surveillance campaigns, which target both individuals’ mobile devices and personal computers.”

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Surveillance Mobile Malware Cyber Attacks 130

Security Affairs

AUGUST 28, 2022

Leaked documents show the surveillance firm Intellexa offering exploits for iOS and Android devices for $8 Million. Intellexa is an Israeli surveillance firm founded by Israeli entrepreneur Tal Dilian, it offers surveillance and hacking solution to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Pierluigi Paganini.

Surveillance 144

Surveillance Spyware Mobile Hacking 144

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 3, 2024

According to rumors, the Polish special services are using surveillance software to spy on government opponents. In June 2022, the controversial Israeli surveillance vendor NSO Group told the European Union lawmakers that its Pegasus spyware was used by at least five countries in the region.

Spyware 132

Spyware Government Surveillance Hacking 132

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.

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Malware Spyware Accountability 98

Security Affairs

JULY 28, 2022

Microsoft linked a private-sector offensive actor (PSOA) to attacks using multiple zero-day exploits for its Subzero malware. The group targets entities in Europe and Central America with a surveillance tool dubbed Subzero. SecurityAffairs – hacking, Subzero malware). ” concludes Microsoft. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Surveillance Malware Authentication Accountability 105

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 3, 2020

According to an anonymous Belarusian security researcher the app was designed for surveillance purposes, it collects info on the device owner and geolocation data, then periodically sends the data back to a remote server. The post Is the Belarusian government behind the surveillance Android app banned by Google?

Surveillance 140

Surveillance Government Advertising Malware 140

Security Affairs

MARCH 13, 2025

North Korea-linked threat actor ScarCruft (aka APT37 , Reaper, and Group123) is behind a previously undetected Android surveillance tool namedKoSpythat was used to target Korean and English-speaking users. The researchers state that the threat is a relatively new malware family with early samples going back to March 2022.

Spyware 93

Spyware Surveillance Encryption Malware 93

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.

Spyware 119

Spyware Surveillance Telecommunications Mobile 119

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 16, 2024

The IT giant fears that the disclosures of its threat intelligence related to commercial spyware operations could aid NSO and other surveillance firms. “Apple’s teams work tirelessly to protect the critical threat-intelligence information that Apple uses to protect its users worldwide. ” reads the court filing.

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Surveillance Spyware Risk Hacking 133

Security Affairs

JUNE 24, 2022

Researchers from Google’s Threat Analysis Group (TAG) revealed that the Italian surveillance firm RCS Labs was helped by some Internet service providers (ISPs) in Italy and Kazakhstan to infect Android and iOS users with their spyware. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook. Pierluigi Paganini.

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Surveillance Mobile Spyware Telecommunications 141

Security Affairs

JANUARY 27, 2025

Usually, such kinds of vulnerabilities are exploited by nation-state actors or commercial surveillance spyware vendors in targeted attacks. Customers are recommended to install the security updates released by the company. As usual, the company did not share details regarding the attacks exploiting the flaw.

Spyware 133

Spyware Surveillance Media Hacking 133

Security Affairs

APRIL 13, 2022

According to a report published by Reuters, an Israeli surveillance software was used to spy on senior officials in the European Commission. The report did not attribute the attacks to a specific threat actor or did not reveal what information was obtained following the compromise of the victims’ devices. .”

Surveillance 116

Surveillance Software Spyware Hacking 116

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 26, 2025

The malware also grants attackers access to the devices system, enabling them to retrieve user KeyChain data, device lists, and execute shell commands, potentially gaining full control over the device. . Additionally, the list references “Enigma,” which may correspond to the secure messaging platform of the same name.”

Data collection 117

Data collection Spyware Media Surveillance 117

Security Affairs

MAY 20, 2019

Amnesty International filed a lawsuit against Israeli surveillance firm NSO and fears its staff may be targeted by the company with its Pegasus spyware. The name NSO Group made the headlines last week after the disclosure of the WhatsApp flaw exploited by the company to remotely install its surveillance software.

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Surveillance Spyware Software Government 107

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.

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Surveillance Spyware Government Hacking 98

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 17, 2022

The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) authority this week called for a ban on the development and the use of surveillance software like the Pegasus spyware in the EU. Pegasus was used by governments with dubious human rights records and histories of abusive behaviour by their state security services. ” continues EDPS.

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Surveillance Spyware Government Software 98

Security Affairs

APRIL 8, 2025

In February, Meta announced that it had discovered and dismantled a malware campaign via WhatsApp that targeted journalists and civil society members with the Paragon spyware (aka Graphite). The company confirmed that the issue was fixed in December 2024 without a client-side update, and no CVE-ID was assigned.

Spyware 129

Spyware Media Hacking Surveillance 129

Security Affairs

APRIL 12, 2023

At least five members of civil society worldwide have been targeted with spyware and exploits developed by surveillance firm QuaDream. Citizen Lab researchers reported that at least five civil society members were victims of spyware and exploits developed by the Israeli surveillance firm QuaDream. ” concludes Citizen Lab.

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Spyware Surveillance Malware Government 98

Security Affairs

JANUARY 14, 2021

Security experts from ESET uncovered an ongoing surveillance campaign, dubbed Operation Spalax , against Colombian government institutions and private companies. Malware researchers from ESET uncovered an ongoing surveillance campaign, dubbed Operation Spalax , against Colombian entities exclusively. Pierluigi Paganini.

Malware 143

Malware Surveillance Phishing Government 143

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 12, 2024

Lookout researchers linked the BoneSpy and PlainGnome Android surveillance families to the Russian APT group Gamaredon (a.k.a. These are the first known mobile malware families linked to the Russian APT. These findings tie the mobile surveillance families to Gamaredons desktop campaigns. PlainGnome uses a two-stage deployment.

Mobile 113

Mobile Malware Surveillance Social Engineering 113

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. Bazar is a lesser known spelling of Bazaar.” List of installed packages.

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Spyware Malware Mobile 98

Security Affairs

MARCH 21, 2025

. — Operation Zero (@opzero_en) March 20, 2025 A zero-day broker like Operation Zero might be willing to pay millions for Telegram exploits for several reasons, including: Government and Intelligence Demand Telegram is widely used for secure communication, including by journalists, activists, dissidents, and political figures.

Government 144

Government Surveillance Mobile Hacking 144

Security Affairs

MARCH 29, 2025

“This report explores the features of Crocodilus, its links to known threat actors, and how it lures victims into helping the malware steal their own credentials.” ” The new threat mimics modern banking malware, using overlay attacks, keylogging, and remote access. ” ThreatFabric concludes.

Banking 83

Banking Mobile Identity Theft Malware 83

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 30, 2019

The United Arab Emirates denied reports that the popular mobile app ToTok was used as part of a government massive surveillance program. According to a report recently published by the New York Times , the popular app ToTok was used by the UAE government as a surveillance tool. SecurityAffairs – ToTok, surveillance).

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Surveillance Government Telecommunications Advertising 95

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,

Surveillance 98

Surveillance Spyware Education Media 98

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 7, 2020

US authorities have indicted a Russian national for conspiring to recruit a Tesla employee to install malware onto the company’s infrastructure. Russian national Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov (27) has been indicted in the United States for conspiring to recruit a Tesla employee to install malware onto the company’s network.

Malware 140

Malware Advertising Surveillance Hacking 140

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 7, 2024

The Federal Security Service (FSB) used spyware to monitor a Russian programmer, Kirill Parubets, after he was detained earlier this year for allegedly donating to Ukraine. These extended capabilities suggest that the malware aims for comprehensive surveillance of the target device. ” continues the report.

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Spyware Passwords Encryption Surveillance 137

Security Affairs

MARCH 19, 2021

The Russian national who attempted to convince a Tesla employee to plant malware on Tesla systems has pleaded guilty. Justice Department announced on Thursday that the Russian national Egor Igorevich Kriuchkov (27), who attempted to convince a Tesla employee to install malware on the company’s computers, has pleaded guilty.

Malware 145

Malware Surveillance Hacking Technology 145

Security Affairs

JUNE 3, 2024

Russia-linked APT28 used the HeadLace malware and credential-harvesting web pages in attacks against networks across Europe. Researchers at Insikt Group observed Russian GRU’s unit APT28 targeting networks across Europe with information-stealer Headlace and credential-harvesting web pages.

Malware 144

Malware Phishing Surveillance Internet 144

Krebs on Security

OCTOBER 28, 2020

In August, Gunnebo said it had successfully thwarted a ransomware attack, but this week it emerged that the intruders stole and published online tens of thousands of sensitive documents — including schematics of client bank vaults and surveillance systems. He declined to comment on the particulars of the extortion incident. ”

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Hacking Ransomware Banking Accountability 358

Security Affairs

MARCH 2, 2024

Court ordered surveillance firm NSO Group to hand over the source code for its Pegasus spyware and other products to Meta. Judge ordered the surveillance firm to hand over the source code for its Pegasus spyware and other products to the social network giant. from April 29, 2018, to May 10, 2020).

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Spyware Surveillance Software Architecture 145