Spyware coverage examines reported incidents, technical analysis, infrastructure, disruption efforts, and defensive guidance on unauthorized monitoring.
Search across headline titles and summaries.
Background for this topic.
Spyware is malicious software that covertly monitors a device or user and sends collected information to an unauthorized party. Depending on its capabilities, it may capture keystrokes, credentials, messages, files, browsing activity, or location data, and may use microphones or cameras when permissions or vulnerabilities allow it. The term covers both broadly distributed malware and more specialized surveillance tools, so reporting should identify a family or tool only when evidence supports it.
Spyware commonly reaches systems through deceptive applications, malicious attachments, bundled software, or exploitation of unpatched software; the relevant exposure depends on the reported case. Security teams should prioritize timely vulnerability and application updates, restrict installation and permissions, and use endpoint or mobile telemetry to detect unusual collection or outbound connections. Suspected infections require isolation and evidence preservation, followed by credential rotation from a trusted device and assessment of what privacy-sensitive data may have been accessed. These findings can also inform legal or regulatory handling where monitoring involved personal or confidential information.
Russian cyberspies Gamaredon has been discovered using two Android spyware families named 'BoneSpy' and 'PlainGnome' to spy on and steal data from mobile devices. [...]
Russian cyberspies Gamaredon has been discovered using two Android spyware families named 'BoneSpy' and 'PlainGnome' to spy on and steal data from mobile devices. [...]
Secret Blizzard Used Third-party Amadey Bots to Hack Ukrainian Military DevicesA Russian state-backed hacker group used third-party data-stealing bots and possibly a backdoor used by another Russia-based threat group to infiltrate and spy on devices used by frontline Ukrainian military units, according to a report from the Microsoft threat intelligence team.
Law enforcement across mainland China have been using EagleMsgSpy surveillance tool to collect mobile device data since at least 2017, new research shows.
The Russia-linked state-sponsored threat actor tracked as Gamaredon has been attributed to two new Android spyware tools called BoneSpy and PlainGnome, marking the first time the adversary has been discovered using mobile-only malware families in its attack campaigns
Russian-made spyware BoneSpy and PlainGnome target former Soviet states, while public security bureaus in mainland China use Chinese surveillance tool EagleMsgSpy
A previously undocumented Android spyware called 'EagleMsgSpy' has been discovered and is believed to be used by law enforcement agencies in China to monitor mobile devices. [...]
Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a novel surveillance program that's suspected to be used by Chinese police departments as a lawful intercept tool to gather a wide range of information from mobile devices