The New York Attorney General's Office has imposed a fine of $410,000 on a stalkerware developer who was using 16 companies to promote surveillance tools illegally. Stalkerware platforms allow their customers to track other people's phones without their knowledge, and in some cases, they can be used to monitor the target's online activity and collect sensitive information such as their location, which can be used for blackmail or other malicious purposes. Patrick Hinchy, the spyware vendor, has also agreed to inform the victims of his customers that their phones are being monitored using one of his multiple apps, such as Auto Forward, Easy Spy, DDI Utilities, Highster Mobile, PhoneSpector, Surepoint, or TurboSpy. These apps enable users to secretly monitor what other individuals are doing on their mobile devices, including their location, browsing history, call logs, text messages, photos and videos, email activity, WhatsApp and Skype chats, and social media activity. Some of the stalkerware apps also allow a user to remotely activate the camera or microphone of the target device to enable spying or eavesdropping on the owner of the device. The stalkerware ads were also used to mislead customers into believing that spying was legal, even though installing such software on someone else's device without their consent is against the law. Attorney General James stated that snooping on a partner and tracking their cell phone without their knowledge is not only a sign of an unhealthy relationship, but it is also illegal. The agreement will prevent these companies from allowing New Yorkers to be monitored without their knowledge, and will continue the fight to protect New Yorkers' rights, safety, and privacy. In September 2021, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission also banned stalkerware maker Spyfone from the surveillance business. The settlement also required Spyfone to notify the owners of the devices where the stalkerware was installed that the devices were monitored and no longer secure. In October 2019, the FTC also blocked Retina-X Studios from selling three stalkerware mobile apps. Additionally, Google has banned advertising for spyware and surveillance tech globally starting August 11, 2020, after the search giant updated its Google Ads Enabling Dishonest Behavior policy one month earlier.
This Cyber News was published on www.bleepingcomputer.com. Publication date: Sat, 04 Feb 2023 19:31:03 +0000