Information Security, Mobile and Surveillance

Google TAG argues surveillance firm RCS Labs was helped by ISPs to infect mobile users

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. ” reads the report published by Google. Follow me on Twitter: @securityaffairs and Facebook.

Surveillance

Surveillance Mobile Spyware Telecommunications

Surveillance firm’s leaked docs show the purchase of an $8M iOS RCE zero-day exploit?

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

Surveillance Spyware Mobile Hacking

France’s government is giving the police more surveillance power

Security Affairs

JULY 9, 2023

. “”We’re far away from the totalitarianism of 1984,” George Orwell’s novel about a society under total surveillance, Dupond-Moretti said. ” The police can use multiple means to gather data from the suspects’ devices, including laptops, mobile phones, car entertainment systems, and other IoT objects.

Surveillance

Surveillance Government Spyware IoT

Surveillance vendor exploited Samsung phone zero-days

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. Pierluigi Paganini.

Surveillance

Surveillance Spyware Mobile Manufacturing

Greek intelligence service used surveillance malware to spy on a journalist, Reuters reports

Security Affairs

AUGUST 6, 2022

Greek intelligence admitted it had spied on a journalist, while citizens ask the government to reveal the use of surveillance malware. The head of the Greek intelligence told a parliamentary committee that they had spied on a journalist with surveillance malware , Reuters reported citing two sources present. ” reported Reuters.

Surveillance

Surveillance Malware Spyware Government

Anomaly Six, a US surveillance firm that tracks roughly 3 billion devices in real-time

Security Affairs

APRIL 26, 2022

An interesting article published by The Intercept reveals the secretive business of a US surveillance firm named Anomaly Six. While Russia was invading Ukraine in February, two unknown surveillance startups, Anomaly Six and Zignal Labs joined forces to provide powerful surveillance services. ” concludes the article.

Surveillance

Surveillance Mobile Government Media

Long-running surveillance campaigns target Uyghurs with BadBazaar and MOONSHINE spyware

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. List of installed packages. ” concludes the report. .”

Surveillance

Surveillance Spyware Malware Mobile

EU officials were targeted with Israeli surveillance software

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

Surveillance Software Spyware Hacking

CISA adds bugs exploited by commercial surveillance spyware to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

Security Affairs

APRIL 1, 2023

CISA has added nine flaws to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog, including bugs exploited by commercial spyware on mobile devices. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has added nine new vulnerabilities to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Education

German authorities raid the offices of the FinFisher surveillance firm

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. FinSpy can spy on most popular desktop and mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. Pierluigi Paganini.

Surveillance

Surveillance Spyware Software Advertising

Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 9, 2023

Researchers reported that the top-of-the-line Android mobile devices sold in China are shipped with malware. The apps were designed to exfiltrate user and device information in a stealthy way, including system info, geolocation, user profile, social relationships, and call history.

Mobile

Mobile Malware Surveillance Spyware

Experts link Hermit spyware to Italian surveillance firm RCS Lab and a front company

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

Spyware Surveillance Telecommunications Mobile

Domestic Kitten has been conducting surveillance targeting over 1,000 individuals

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.”

Surveillance

Surveillance Mobile Malware Cyber Attacks

JekyllBot:5 flaws allow hacking TUG autonomous mobile robots in hospitals

Security Affairs

APRIL 13, 2022

Researchers discovered five vulnerabilities that can be exploited to remotely hack hospital Aethon’s TUG autonomous mobile robots. According to a US CISA advisory, the successful exploitation of these flaws could cause a denial-of-service condition, allow full control of robot functions, or expose sensitive information.

Mobile

Mobile Hacking Firmware Surveillance

NSO CEO claims Facebook wanted NSO surveillance tool to spy on users

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. According to the NSO CEO, Facebook was interested in improving surveillance capabilities on iOS devices of the Onavo Protect. Copyright (C) 2014 Media.net Advertising FZ-LLC All Rights Reserved -->.

Surveillance

Surveillance Spyware Advertising Government

Russian zero-day broker is willing to pay $20M for zero-day exploits for iPhones and Android devices

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 27, 2023

A Russian zero-day broker is willing to pay $20 million for zero-day exploits for iPhones and Android mobile devices. The Russian zero-day broker firm Operation Zero is increasing payouts for top-tier mobile exploits. Due to high demand on the market, we're increasing payouts for top-tier mobile exploits.

Mobile

Mobile Surveillance Marketing Hacking

Ukraine’s SBU arrested a member of Pro-Russia hackers group ‘Cyber Army of Russia’

Security Affairs

JANUARY 29, 2024

Police searched the man’s apartment and seized three mobile phones, a laptop, and a flash drive containing information that would substantiate the allegations. Apart from conducting DDoS attacks, the man is suspected of disclosing strategic information to Russian intelligence.

Surveillance

Surveillance DDOS Mobile Hacking

UAE government denies using ToTok for mass surveillance

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).

Surveillance

Surveillance Government Telecommunications Advertising

Egypt regularly spies on opponents and activists with mobile apps

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 4, 2019

Researchers at Check Point discovered that Egypt ‘ government has been spying citizens in a sophisticated surveillance program. Researchers at Check Point discovered that the Egyptian government has been spying on activists and opponents as part of a sophisticated surveillance program. SecurityAffairs – Egypt, surveillance).

Mobile

Mobile Surveillance Government Advertising

Is the Belarusian government behind the surveillance Android app banned by Google?

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

Surveillance Government Advertising Malware

WhatsApp flaws could have allowed hackers to remotely hack mobile devices

Security Affairs

APRIL 14, 2021

WhatsApp recently addressed two security vulnerabilities in its app for Android that could have been exploited by remote attackers to execute malicious code on a target device and potentially eavesdrop on communications. ” If you want to receive the weekly Security Affairs Newsletter for free subscribe here. Pierluigi Paganini.

Mobile

Mobile Hacking Encryption Surveillance

Researchers analyzed the PREDATOR spyware and its loader Alien

Security Affairs

MAY 29, 2023

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). The attacks aimed at installing the surveillance spyware Predator, developed by the North Macedonian firm Cytrox.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Media Malware

iShutdown lightweight method allows to discover spyware infections on iPhones

Security Affairs

JANUARY 17, 2024

The method allow to discover stealthy and poweful surveillance software like NSO Group ‘s Pegasus , Intellexa ‘s Predator , QuaDream ‘s Reign. The researchers focused on an unexpected system log, Shutdown.log, which is present in any mobile iOS device. ” continues the report.

Spyware

Spyware Mobile Malware Surveillance

Experts attribute WyrmSpy and DragonEgg spyware to the Chinese APT41 group

Security Affairs

JULY 20, 2023

The nation-state actors are turning their focus to mobile devices because these devices are high-value targets for cyber espionage operations. APT41 historically attempted to exploit web-facing applications and infiltrate traditional endpoint devices, but the two spyware demonstrates the interest of the group in targeting mobile platforms.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Malware

Unknown FinSpy Mac and Linux versions found in Egypt

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. FinSpy can spy on most popular desktop and mobile operating systems, including Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux. ” reads the Amnesty’s report.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Advertising

Signal denies claims of an alleged zero-day flaw in its platform

Security Affairs

OCTOBER 16, 2023

We take reports to security@signal.org very seriously, and invite those with real info to share it there. Some researchers reported that the flaw affected the link preview feature of the mobile app and urged users to disable it.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Encryption Mobile

Sophisticated Android spyware PhoneSpy infected thousands of Korean phones

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 10, 2021

Researchers from Zimperium zLabs uncovered an ongoing campaign aimed at infecting the mobile phones of South Korean users with new sophisticated android spyware dubbed PhoneSpy. The malware also allows an attacker to remotely control the infected mobile devices. The malware already hit more than a thousand South Korean victims.

Spyware

Spyware Mobile Social Engineering Surveillance

Experts spotted two Android spyware used by Indian APT Confucius

Security Affairs

FEBRUARY 11, 2021

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. Since 2018, the hackers started targeting mobile users with an Android surveillance malware ChatSpy. ” concludes the report.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Malware Mobile

Pegasus Project – how governments use Pegasus spyware against journalists

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.

Spyware

Spyware Government Surveillance Media

Eken camera doorbells allow ill-intentioned individuals to spy on you

Security Affairs

MARCH 3, 2024

Steve Blair, a CR privacy and security test engineer, and fellow test engineer David Della Rocca, discovered that at least 10 more seemingly identical video doorbells been sold under different brand names, are all controlled through the same mobile app, called Aiwit, which is owned by Eken.

Manufacturing

Manufacturing Wireless Retail Surveillance

Zero-day exploit used to hack iPhones of Al Jazeera employees

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. ” The KISMET exploit chain doesn’t work against iOS 14 and above because the new mobile iOS implements additional security protections.

Hacking

Hacking Surveillance Spyware Government

Donot Team targets a Togo prominent activist with Indian-made spyware

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. The company denied any involvement in the surveillance campaign attributed to the Donot Team APT. Experts believe the attackers used a spyware developed by an Indian company called Innefu Labs.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Accountability Mobile

New zero-click exploit used to target Bahraini activists’ iPhones with NSO spyware

Security Affairs

AUGUST 24, 2021

The iPhones of nine activists, including members of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights , Waad , Al Wefaq , were infected with Pegasus spyware as part of a surveillance operation likely orchestrated by a threat actor tracked as LULU and attributed with high confidence to the government of Bahrain. as a zero-day.”

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Hacking Mobile

Sextortion campaign uses Goontact spyware to target Android and iOS users

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 16, 2020

“The spyware, which we have named Goontact, targets users of illicit sites, typically offering escort services, and steals personal information from their mobile device.” “Targets are convinced to install (or sideload) a mobile application on some pretext, such as audio or video problems.”

Spyware

Spyware Mobile Surveillance Malware

Security Affairs newsletter Round 435 by Pierluigi Paganini – International edition

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 3, 2023

ransomware builder used by multiple threat actors Cisco fixes 3 high-severity DoS flaws in NX-OS and FXOS software Cybercrime Unpacking the MOVEit Breach: Statistics and Analysis Cl0p Ups The Ante With Massive MOVEit Transfer Supply-Chain Exploit FBI, Partners Dismantle Qakbot Infrastructure in Multinational Cyber Takedown U.S.

Social Engineering

Social Engineering Spyware Data breaches Surveillance

Google: China dominates government exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities in 2023

Security Affairs

MARCH 28, 2024

In 2023, the researchers observed 36 zero-day vulnerabilities exploited in the wild targeting enterprise-specific technologies, while 61 vulnerabilities affected end-user platforms and products such as mobile devices, operating systems, browsers, and other applications.

Government

Government Surveillance Cybercrime Ransomware

The iPhone of a Russian journalist was infected with the Pegasus spyware

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023

A joint investigation conducted by Access Now and the Citizen Lab revealed that the journalist, who is at odds with the Russian government, was infected with the surveillance software. However, there is no public evidence that the Russian government is a client of the Israeli surveillance firm NSO Group. ” states Access Now.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Media Government

NYT report states that ToTok app is a government spy tool.

Security Affairs

DECEMBER 24, 2019

A popular mobile app in the Middle East called ToTok has been removed from both Apple and Google’s online stores because it was a spy tool. According to a report published by the New York Times, the popular app ToTok was used by the UAE government as a surveillance tool. SecurityAffairs – ToTok, surveillence).

Government

Government Surveillance Advertising Mobile

June 2023 Security Update for Android fixed Arm Mali GPU bug used by spyware?

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.

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Firmware Hacking

CVE-2019-2234 flaws in Android Camera Apps exposed millions of users surveillance

Security Affairs

NOVEMBER 19, 2019

The post CVE-2019-2234 flaws in Android Camera Apps exposed millions of users surveillance appeared first on Security Affairs. . ~ Copyright (C) 2014 Media.net Advertising FZ-LLC All Rights Reserved -->. Pierluigi Paganini. SecurityAffairs – Android, CVE-2019-2234).

Surveillance

Surveillance Manufacturing Advertising IoT

Recently patched Apple and Chrome zero-days exploited to infect devices in Egypt with Predator spyware

Security Affairs

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023

The researchers also noticed that the surveillance software was delivered via network injection from a device located physically in Egypt. “This campaign is yet another example of the abuses caused by the proliferation of commercial surveillance vendors and their serious risk to the safety of online users.”

Spyware

Spyware Surveillance Mobile Hacking

Rhythm in the algorithm: digital rights groups call on Spotify to abandon voice recognition invention

SC Magazine

APRIL 9, 2021

A screenshot from a music video of hte Evan Greer song, “Surveillance Capitalism,” which tackles the dangers of commercial surveillance technology. Sometimes fighting the excesses of the creeping surveillance economy is done through position papers, coalition building and lawsuits. Our concern is not ‘Hey patch this up.’

Surveillance

Surveillance Artificial Intelligence Technology Media

Lorenz ransomware gang stolen files from defense contractor Hensoldt

Security Affairs

JANUARY 14, 2022

This week a Hensholdt spokesperson confirmed the security breach to BleepingComputer explaining that a small number of mobile devices in its UK subsidiary has been affected. Hensoldt AG focuses on sensor technologies for protection and surveillance missions in the defence, security and aerospace sectors.

Ransomware

Ransomware Surveillance Mobile Encryption

Episode 207: Sarah Tatsis of BlackBerry on finding and Keeping Women in Cyber

The Security Ledger

MARCH 19, 2021

In this week’s episode of the podcast (#207) we speak with Sara Tatsis of the firm Blackberry about her 20 year career at the legendary mobile device maker and the myriad challenges attracting women to- and keeping them in the information security field. Read the whole entry. »

Cyber Risk

Cyber Risk Surveillance InfoSec Information Security

Google TAG argues surveillance firm RCS Labs was helped by ISPs to infect mobile users

Surveillance firm’s leaked docs show the purchase of an $8M iOS RCE zero-day exploit?

Trending Sources

France’s government is giving the police more surveillance power

Surveillance vendor exploited Samsung phone zero-days

Greek intelligence service used surveillance malware to spy on a journalist, Reuters reports

Anomaly Six, a US surveillance firm that tracks roughly 3 billion devices in real-time

Long-running surveillance campaigns target Uyghurs with BadBazaar and MOONSHINE spyware

EU officials were targeted with Israeli surveillance software

CISA adds bugs exploited by commercial surveillance spyware to Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog

German authorities raid the offices of the FinFisher surveillance firm

Android mobile devices from top vendors in China have pre-installed malware

Experts link Hermit spyware to Italian surveillance firm RCS Lab and a front company

Domestic Kitten has been conducting surveillance targeting over 1,000 individuals

JekyllBot:5 flaws allow hacking TUG autonomous mobile robots in hospitals

NSO CEO claims Facebook wanted NSO surveillance tool to spy on users

Russian zero-day broker is willing to pay $20M for zero-day exploits for iPhones and Android devices

Ukraine’s SBU arrested a member of Pro-Russia hackers group ‘Cyber Army of Russia’

UAE government denies using ToTok for mass surveillance

Egypt regularly spies on opponents and activists with mobile apps

Is the Belarusian government behind the surveillance Android app banned by Google?

WhatsApp flaws could have allowed hackers to remotely hack mobile devices

Researchers analyzed the PREDATOR spyware and its loader Alien

iShutdown lightweight method allows to discover spyware infections on iPhones

Experts attribute WyrmSpy and DragonEgg spyware to the Chinese APT41 group

Unknown FinSpy Mac and Linux versions found in Egypt

Signal denies claims of an alleged zero-day flaw in its platform

Sophisticated Android spyware PhoneSpy infected thousands of Korean phones

Experts spotted two Android spyware used by Indian APT Confucius

Pegasus Project – how governments use Pegasus spyware against journalists

Eken camera doorbells allow ill-intentioned individuals to spy on you

Zero-day exploit used to hack iPhones of Al Jazeera employees

Donot Team targets a Togo prominent activist with Indian-made spyware

New zero-click exploit used to target Bahraini activists’ iPhones with NSO spyware

Sextortion campaign uses Goontact spyware to target Android and iOS users

Security Affairs newsletter Round 435 by Pierluigi Paganini – International edition

Google: China dominates government exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities in 2023

The iPhone of a Russian journalist was infected with the Pegasus spyware

NYT report states that ToTok app is a government spy tool.

June 2023 Security Update for Android fixed Arm Mali GPU bug used by spyware?

CVE-2019-2234 flaws in Android Camera Apps exposed millions of users surveillance

Recently patched Apple and Chrome zero-days exploited to infect devices in Egypt with Predator spyware

Rhythm in the algorithm: digital rights groups call on Spotify to abandon voice recognition invention

Lorenz ransomware gang stolen files from defense contractor Hensoldt

Episode 207: Sarah Tatsis of BlackBerry on finding and Keeping Women in Cyber

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