spyware

Pierluigi Paganini February 17, 2022
European Data Protection Supervisor call for bans on surveillance spyware like Pegasus

The European Data Protection Supervisor authority called for a ban on the development and the use of Pegasus-like commercial spyware. The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) authority this week called for a ban on the development and the use of surveillance software like the Pegasus spyware in the EU. Pegasus is a surveillance malware developed by […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 10, 2022
Spyware, ransomware and Nation-state hacking: Q&A from a recent interview

I transcribed a recent interview, here some questions and answers about nation-state hacking, spyware, and cyber warfare. Enjoy” How has spyware changed the rules of cyber security in recent years? What will cyber security look like now that those tools are all over the internet? In the last decade, we have observed a progressive weaponization […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 28, 2022
Finnish diplomats’ devices infected with Pegasus spyware

Finland Ministry for Foreign Affairs revealed that devices of Finnish diplomats have been infected with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. Finland’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs revealed that the devices of some Finnish diplomats have been compromised with the infamous NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware. The diplomats were targeted with the popular surveillance software as part of a […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 21, 2022
Experts warn of anomalous spyware campaigns targeting industrial firms

Researchers spotted several spyware campaigns targeting industrial enterprises to steal credentials and conduct financial fraud. Researchers from Kaspersky Lab have uncovered multiple spyware campaigns that target industrial firms to steal email account credentials and carry out fraudulent activities. Threat actors sent spear-phishing messages from compromised corporate accounts to their contacts, the email carry malicious attachments. […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 03, 2021
NSO Group spyware used to compromise iPhones of 9 US State Dept officials

Apple warns that the mobile devices of at least nine US Department of State employees were compromised with NSO Group ‘s Pegasus spyware. The iPhones of at least nine US state department officials were compromised with the NSO Group’s spyware Pegasus. The US officials targeted by the surveillance software were either based in Uganda or focused […]

Pierluigi Paganini October 11, 2021
Donot Team targets a Togo prominent activist with Indian-made spyware

A Togolese human rights advocate was hit by mobile spyware that has been allegedly developed by an Indian firm called Innefu Labs. Researchers from Amnesty International have uncovered a cyberespionage campaign tracked as ‘Donot Team‘ (aka APT-C-35) which was orchestrated by threat actors in India and Pakistan. Experts believe the attackers used a spyware developed […]

Pierluigi Paganini September 29, 2021
Experts observed for the first time FinFisher infections involving usage of a UEFI bootkit

Experts spotted a new variant of the FinFisher surveillance spyware that is able to hijack and replace the Windows UEFI bootloader to infect Windows machines. Malware researchers at Kaspersky have spotted a new improvement of the infamous commercial FinSpy surveillance spyware (also known as Wingbird), it can now hijack and replace the Windows UEFI (Unified […]

Pierluigi Paganini August 24, 2021
New zero-click exploit used to target Bahraini activists’ iPhones with NSO spyware

Citizen Lab uncovered a new zero-click iMessage exploit that was used to deploy the NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on devices belonging to Bahraini activists. Researchers from Citizen Lab spotted a zero-click iMessage exploit that was used to deploy NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware on Bahraini activists’ devices. The iPhones of nine activists, including members of the Bahrain Center for Human […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 21, 2021
XLoader, a $49 spyware that could target both Windows and macOS devices

Check Point Research (CPR) experts have spotted a cheap malware, dubbed XLoader variant, which was upgraded to target both Windows and macOS PCs. XLoader is a very cheap malware strain that is based on the popular Formbook Windows malware.  FormBook is a data-stealing malware that is used in cyber espionage campaigns, like other spyware it is […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 15, 2021
Israeli surveillance firm Candiru used Windows zero-days to deploy spyware

Experts said that Israeli surveillance firm Candiru, tracked as Sourgum, exploited zero-days to deliver a new Windows spyware. Microsoft and Citizen Lab believe that the secretive Israel-based Israeli surveillance firm Candiru, tracked as Sourgum, used Windows zero-day exploits to deliver a new Windows spyware dubbed DevilsTongue. According to the experts, at least 100 activists, journalists […]