The State of Stalkerware in 2019

[harlan4096]

CONTENTS

Introduction and methodology
Main findings
Rise of the stalkerware problem
Examples of software used for stalking purposes
Where is stalkerware found?
Stalkerware on the cyberthreat landscape
Conclusion and recommendations

Introduction and methodology

Six months ago, we created a special alert that notifies users about commercial spyware (stalkerware) products installed on their phones. This report examines the use of stalkerware and the number of users affected by this software in the first eight months of 2019.

Сonsumer surveillance technology has evolved rapidly in recent years and the very purpose of surveillance activity has changed dramatically. The rise of the internet and subsequent explosion in mobile device usage has led to a thriving type of surveillance software – known as stalkerware. The software allows users to spy on other people – for example, to monitor their messages, call information and GPS locations – in complete stealth. It can often be used to abuse the privacy of current or former partners and even strangers. This can be done by simply manually installing an application on the targeted victim’s smartphone or tablet. Once in place, the stalker receives access to a range of personal data, despite being remote from the victim. It differs greatly from parental control software. While parental control apps aim to restrict access to risky and inappropriate content and persistently notifies a user about its requests, stalkerware is about providing the abuser with surveillance to spy on a victim, without the consent of an individual.

The vast majority of stalkerware apps are not available on official app stores – like Google Play – and installation requires access to a dedicated website and access to the victim’s device. Those with bad intentions may use it to monitor employee emails, track children’s movements and even spy on what a partner is up to. Such uses may lead to harassment, surveillance without consent, stalking and even domestic violence. However, current laws to regulate the use of stalkerware are not yet strong enough to deter culprits from abusing and taking advantage of other people.

The data in this report has been taken from aggregated threat statistics obtained from the Kaspersky Security Network, to measure how often and how many users encountered stalkerware threats in the first eight months of 2019, compared to what was found last year. The Kaspersky Security Network is the infrastructure dedicated to processing cybersecurity-related data streams from millions of voluntary participants around the world. In this blog, we have explored why stalkerware is being used and where it is implemented most prolifically.

Main findings

From January to August 2019, around the world, there were more than 518,223 cases when our protection technologies either registered presence of stalkerware on users’ devices or detected an attempt to install it – a 373% increase in the same period in 2018

* In the first eight months of 2019, 37,532 users encountered stalkerware at least once. This is a 35% increase from the same period in 2018 when 27,798 users were targeted

* The number of users targeted by full-throttle spyware detected as Trojan-Spy reached 26,620 the first eight months of 2019, which makes it a minority compared to the number of users who encountered stalkerware

* The Russian Federation remains the most prominent region for stalkerware globally, accounting for 25.6% of potentially affected users, in the first eight months of 2019. India is in second place with 10.6% of affected users, and Brazil is in third place (10.4%). The United States hold forth place with 7.1%

* When it comes to Europe – Germany, Italy and the UK hold the top three places respectively
...

Continue Reading