Tag Archives: spyware

The US Malware Developer who Helped Russia Spy on Devices

Latvian-born hacker Alexsey Belan, a Russian citizen, has been on the FBI’s list of most wanted cybercriminals for some time. His latest misdeed was the theft of 500 million Yahoo accounts in order to spy on Russian journalists and officials from both the US government and the Kremlin itself.

The Department of Justice of the United States has officially accused him of the crime. The department suspects that he have committed the crime in collaboration with another cybercriminal and with two spies from the Russian Federal Security Service. Antichat was one of the cybercrime forums which Belan frequented. It is also one of those used by the Russian spyware company OpenGSM to recruit cybercriminals and increase their sales.

According to a Forbes investigation, OpenGSM has resold a tool to spy iPhones and Android smartphones that was developed by an American. Killer Mobile, a company headed by Joshua Alner, created a surveillance software called Tracer that has made its way to Russian shores.

A dangerous deal between Americans and Russians

A researcher who preferred to remain anonymous found an OpenGSM document that redirects users to a website owned by Alner from which a spyware kit could be obtained as part of a 600 euro package.

He also found Killer Mobile malware for Android on an OpenGSM website, proof that the company bought the vendor’s surveillance tools. In fact, Alner could have pocketed between 150 and 500 thousand dollars for that sale.

Neither Alner nor OpenGSM, which sells its software to government agencies and consumers, have come forth to comment about their research. Killer Mobile, a company with only ten employees, offered its malware — which is legally defined as a “hidden listening device” — to about sixty resellers in at least ten countries, an activity requiring an export license .

The spy software that OpenGSM commercialized served to host spyware on the devices of almost 800 users in Russia, Kazakhstan and the European Union in 2015. Another tool that OpenGSM offered, which was not developed by Killer Mobile, appears to have had mobile users in the US in its crosshairs.

Tensions are on the rise between geopolitical actors, both big and small, in the cyber-sphere, and as such we are collectively entering a period of uncertainty about where we stand in terms of our own personal security on our devices. Wherever the threat may come from, be it a government agency or a malware entrepreneur, it’s always best to be protected by an advanced cybersecurity solution.

The post The US Malware Developer who Helped Russia Spy on Devices appeared first on Panda Security Mediacenter.

Google just discovered a dangerous Android Spyware that went undetected for 3 Years

An Android version of one of the most sophisticated mobile spyware has been discovered that remained undetected for at least three years due to its smart self-destruction capabilities.

Dubbed Chrysaor, the Android spyware has been used in targeted attacks against activists and journalists mostly in Israel, but also in Georgia, Turkey, Mexico, the UAE and other countries.

Chrysaor espionage

Verizon to pre-install a 'Spyware' app on its Android phones to collect user data

If the death of online privacy rules wasn’t enough for Internet Service Providers and advertisers to celebrate, Verizon has planned to pre-install spyware on customers’ Android devices in order to collect their personal data.

The telecom giant has partnered with Evie Launcher to bring a new application called ‘AppFlash’ — a universal search bar that will come pre-installed on the home screens

Hackers Are Using Android Malware To Spy On Israeli Military Personnel

A group of highly sophisticated state-sponsored hackers is spying on the Israeli military by hacking into the personal Android phones of individual soldiers to monitor their activities and steal data.

A newly released research by Lookout and Kaspersky suggests that more than 100 Israeli servicemen from the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) are believed to have been targeted with spyware.
<!–

Apple releases 'Emergency' Patch after Advanced Spyware Targets Human Rights Activist

Apple has released iOS 9.3.5 update for iPhones and iPads to patch three zero-day vulnerabilities after a piece of spyware found targeting the iPhone used by a renowned UAE human rights defender, Ahmed Mansoor.

One of the world’s most invasive software weapon distributors, called the NSO Group, has been exploiting three zero-day security vulnerabilities in order to spy on dissidents and