Spyware
NSO Group fined $167M for spyware attacks on 1,400 WhatsApp users
A U.S. federal jury has ordered Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group to pay WhatsApp $167,254,000 in punitive damages and $444,719 in compensatory damages for a 2019 campaign that targeted 1,400 users of the communication app. The verdict is considered a landmark case for being the first time a spyware vendor is held accountable in court, […]
Google: 97 zero-days exploited in 2024, over 50% in spyware attacks
Google’s Threat Intelligence Group (GTIG) says attackers exploited 75 zero-day vulnerabilities in the wild last year, over 50% of which were linked to spyware attacks. These numbers are down from 97 zero-days in 2023 but up from 63 in 2022, which GTIG analysts attributed to year-to-year swings reflecting expected variation within an upward trajectory for […]
Russian army targeted by new Android malware hidden in mapping app
A new Android malware has been discovered hidden inside trojanized versions of the Alpine Quest mapping app, which is reportedly used by Russian soldiers as part of war zone operational planning. Attackers promote the trojanized app as a free, cracked version of the premium Alpine Quest Pro, using Telegram channels and Russian app catalogs for distribution. […]
Chrome extensions with 6 million installs have hidden tracking code
A set of 57 Chrome extensions with 6,000,000 users have been discovered with very risky capabilities, such as monitoring browsing behavior, accessing cookies for domains, and potentially executing remote scripts. These extensions are ‘hidden,’ meaning they don’t show up on Chrome Web Store searches, nor do search engines index them, and can only be installed […]
WhatsApp patched zero-click flaw exploited in Paragon spyware attacks
WhatsApp has patched a zero-click, zero-day vulnerability used to install Paragon’s Graphite spyware following reports from security researchers at the University of Toronto’s Citizen Lab. The company addressed the attack vector late last year “without the need for a client-side fix” and decided not to assign a CVE-ID after “reviewing the CVE guidelines published by […]
New North Korean Android spyware slips onto Google Play
A new Android spyware named ‘KoSpy’ is linked to North Korean threat actors who have infiltrated Google Play and third-party app store APKPure through at least five malicious apps. According to Lookout researchers, the spyware is attributed to the North Korean threat group APT37 (aka ‘ScarCruft’). The campaign has been active since March 2022, with the […]
Serbian police used Cellebrite zero-day hack to unlock Android phones
Serbian authorities have reportedly used an Android zero-day exploit chain developed by Cellebrite to unlock the device of a student activist in the country and attempt to install spyware. Cellebrite is an Israeli digital forensics company that develops tools used by law enforcement, intelligence agencies, and private companies to extract data from smartphones and other digital […]
SpyLend Android malware downloaded 100,000 times from Google Play
An Android malware app called SpyLend has been downloaded over 100,000 times from Google Play, where it masqueraded as a financial tool but became a predatory loan app for those in India. The app falls under a group of malicious Android applications called “SpyLoan,” which pretend to be legitimate financial tools or loan services but […]
US court finds spyware maker NSO liable for WhatsApp hacks
A U.S. federal judge has ruled that Israeli spyware maker NSO Group violated U.S. hacking laws by using WhatsApp zero-days to deploy Pegasus spyware on at least 1,400 devices. NSO Group markets Pegasus as surveillance software for governments that enables clients to monitor victims’ activities and extract data from compromised devices. “This ruling is a […]
Android malware found on Amazon Appstore disguised as health app
A malicious Android spyware application named ‘BMI CalculationVsn’ was discovered on the Amazon Appstore, masquerading as a simple health tool but stealing data from infected devices in the background. The application was discovered by McAfee Labs researchers, who notified Amazon, leading to the application being removed from the store. However, those who installed the app must manually […]