Hamas-linked spyware targeting Palestinians removed from Google Play store

A hacking group which analysts believe is linked to Hamas successfully placed highly targeted surveillanceware in the Google Play Store in order to spy on Palestinian targets, according to new research from the mobile security firm Lookout. The newly identified malware, known as Desert Scorpion, was deployed against over 100 individuals of interest in Palestine. A similar 2017 campaign from the same “highly active” group, dubbed APT-C-23.  The group has been linked to Hamas’s political rivals as well as government employees, security services and university students. Desert Scorpion has been tied to a 2017 campaign, known as Frozen Cell, by reuse of the same social media profiles to promote the malware as well as infrastructure using similar IP blocks. APT-C-23 has been active since at least 2015 when U.S. cybersecurity firms Palo Alto Networks and ThreatConnect identified a campaign by the group targeting the United States, Israel, Palestinian Territories and Egypt. The malware allows its users to steal data from […]

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‘Highly active’ Hamas-linked hackers found spying on Palestinian political group

A “highly active” group of hackers, which some analysts believe may be linked to Hamas, are spying on Palestinian government employees, security services, university students and Fatah party politicians by infecting smartphones with malware, according to research conducted by mobile security firm Lookout. The espionage campaign is part of a broader effort by the hacker group, previously dubbed “Two-tailed Scorpion” by security researchers, to remotely collect information about Palestinians related in some way to the political process, including those individuals who may discuss, share or otherwise receive sensitive material on their mobile phones. Fatah and Hamas represent the two largest political parties of the State of Palestine, a contested territory that spans two separate areas, the West Bank and Gaza Strip — bordering on Israel, Jordan and Egypt. The two political organizations continuously clash with one another to control the state. Between 2006 and 2007, their rivalry led to an armed conflict […]

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