Stalkerware

Many information security experts and journalists{{Who|date=May 2023}} apply the term stalkerware to any software (malicious programs and legitimate commercial monitoring products) that can be used or potentially be used for stalking.{{Cite web |title=These 7 Apps are Android Stalkerware, Delete Them Now |last=Harding |first=Xavier |work=Fortune |date=18 July 2019 |url= https://fortune.com/2019/07/18/google-play-store-android-stalkerware/}}{{Cite web |title=How "stalkerware" apps are letting abusive partners spy on their victims |last=Jee |first=Charlotte |work=MIT Technology Review |date=10 July 2019 |url= https://www.technologyreview.com/2019/07/10/134249/stalkerware-apps-are-letting-abusive-partners-spy-on-their-victims/}}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.wired.com/story/eva-galperin-stalkerware-kaspersky-antivirus/|title=Hacker Eva Galperin Has a Plan to Eradicate Stalkerware|author=Andy Greenberg|magazine=Wired|date=4 March 2019|language=en|issn=1059-1028}} The following features of stalkerware are distinguished:

• powerful surveillance functions (key logging, making screenshots, monitoring of Internet activity, recording of location, recording video and audio);
• ability to work in stealth mode (the user is not notified about being monitored);
• the application is not visible in the list of installed programs;
• the running application is disguised as system processes or utility programs);
• correct installation and/or operation of the application requires disabling anti-viruses or the built-in protection in the OS;
• in case of mobile applications, the app is usually installed from resources other than official app stores, although there have been cases of stalkerware in app stores;
• the software manufacturer positions its product as a means of tracking an intimate partner or a tool for parental monitoring, while, in fact, anybody can use it to access another person's phone, determine their GPS location, read private messages, see through cameras and hear microphones.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-50175538/using-stalkerware-to-spy-on-a-colleague-s-phone|title=Using 'stalkerware' to spy on a colleague's phone|last=|first=|date=25 October 2019|website=BBC News|access-date=}}

According to a 2014 survey by NPR, 75% of domestic abuse shelters surveyed reported that they were working with individuals who had been tracked by their abusers via stalkerware.{{Cite web|title=Smartphones Are Used To Stalk, Control Domestic Abuse Victims|url=https://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2014/09/15/346149979/smartphones-are-used-to-stalk-control-domestic-abuse-victims|access-date=2021-06-17|website=NPR.org|date=15 September 2014 |language=en |last1=Shahani |first1=Aarti }} The rising popularity of stalkerware led to an arms race between apps which helped users protect their privacy, and apps designed to circumvent those safeguards.{{Cite web|last=Cottle|first=Michelle|date=2014-10-15|title=The Adultery Arms Race|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/the-adultery-arms-race/380794/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=The Atlantic|language=en}}

Throughout its history, companies which develop stalkerware have been subject to numerous hacks and data breaches, many by hacktivists in protest of stalkerware's unethical applications.{{Cite web|title=The state of stalkerware in 2020|url=https://securelist.com/the-state-of-stalkerware-in-2020/100875/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=securelist.com|date=26 February 2021 }} Companies including mSpy,{{Cite web|title=Another mSpy leak exposed millions of sensitive user records|url=https://searchsecurity.techtarget.com/news/252448327/Another-mSpy-leak-exposed-millions-of-sensitive-user-records|access-date=2021-06-17|website=SearchSecurity|language=en}} Flexispy,{{Cite web|title=Stalkerware Company FlexiSpy Calls Catastrophic Hack 'Just Some False News'|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/flexispy-calls-catastrophic-hack-just-some-false-news/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Vice.com|date=19 April 2017 |language=en}} and KidGuard have been targets of breaches.{{Cite web|title=A 'stalkerware' app leaked phone data from thousands of victims|url=https://techcrunch.com/2020/02/20/kidsguard-spyware-app-phones/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=TechCrunch|date=20 February 2020 |language=en-US}}

In 2018, computer security specialist and activist Eva Galperin created a project to eradicate stalkerware.{{Cite web|last=Doctorow|first=Cory|date=2019-04-03|title=How EFF's Eva Galperin plans to destroy the stalkerware industry|url=https://boingboing.net/2019/04/03/the-good-fight.html|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Boing Boing|language=en-US}} Galperin has advocated for stalkerware to be seen as malware, and for phone and software companies to take steps to safeguard against the use of such programs.

In 2020, Kaspersky Lab released a report on the state of stalkerware. Among its findings were that the United States, Russia and Brazil were the three countries most affected.

Stalkerware has been criticized for its use by abusers to control and monitor their victims. The European Institute for Gender Equality released a report on stalkerware and cyberstalking's connection to domestic violence.{{Cite web|title=Cyber violence is a growing threat, especially for women and girls|url=https://eige.europa.eu/news/cyber-violence-growing-threat-especially-women-and-girls|access-date=2021-06-17|website=European Institute for Gender Equality|date=19 June 2017 |language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Stalkerware is Gaining Ground – Don't Be a Victim|url=https://www.hidemytraffic.com/stalkerware-is-gaining-ground/|access-date=2023-07-09|website=HideMyTraffic.com|date=9 May 2023 |language=en}} Guides on how to detect and disable stalkerware have been published by sites including Mashable,{{Cite web|last=Morse|first=Jack|title=How to find stalkerware on your smartphone|url=https://mashable.com/article/how-to-check-for-stalkerware-on-smartphone-iphone-android/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Mashable|language=en}} Wired,{{Cite magazine|title=How to Check Your Devices for Stalkerware|language=en-US|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/story/how-to-check-for-stalkerware|access-date=2021-06-17|issn=1059-1028}} and CNET.{{Cite web|last=Hautala|first=Laura|title='I thought I was going nuts': What to do if you think stalkerware's on your phone|url=https://www.cnet.com/news/stalkerware-what-to-know-when-youre-the-target/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=CNET|language=en}}

The news organization Vice publishes "When Spies Come Home", an investigative series about the use of stalkerware, and various controversies surrounding the industry.{{Cite web|title=When Spies Come Home|url=https://www.vice.com/en/tag/when-spies-come-home/|access-date=2021-06-17|website=Vice.com|language=en}}

{{Main|Cyberstalking legislation}}

• Pegasus (spyware)

{{reflist}}

Category:Spyware

Category:Cyberstalking

Category:Information sensitivity