During a pandemic, stalkerware becomes even more sinister
When public health experts started recommending social distancing to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the goal was to place people out of harm’s way. But the policy has forced many domestic violence victims to possibly face a far more insidious danger: isolating with an abuser. Security researchers tell CyberScoop that data show a rise in invasive surveillance software known as stalkerware — applications that can spy on partners’ texts, calls, social media use and geolocation information — since the coronavirus pandemic began, despite the fact that abusers are much more likely to be sharing the same living space as their victims. Three antivirus companies tracking stalkerware globally told CyberScoop they saw an increase in stalkerware detections just after governments at all levels put social distancing measures in place. Between January and May, for instance, California-based Malwarebytes and Germany-based Avira said stalkerware detections on their respective customers’ devices spiked by 190% and […]
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