According to Kaspersky 's annual report on mobile malware threats, the number of users infected with stalkerware increased by almost 40% in 2019. In 2018, the number of victims was 40,386, while in 2019 it reached 67,500.
The increase is significant despite Google 's effort to remove all stalkerware apps from the Play Store in late 2018.
Despite the removal of stalkerware applications from the official Android app store, hackers or even some malicious users try to secretly install these applications on their victims' devices, using unofficial sources.
However, Kaspersky does not have data for many years before, so we cannot know exactly the evolution of this threat.
Kaspersky began detecting and flagging stalkerware applications in the spring of 2018, following pressure from Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
Many other security companies have followed Kaspersky's lead. Most of themare now members of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, a multinational group specializing in combating the effects of these applications.
What are stalkerware applications?
Stalkerware applications are also known as spouseware. They are a type of surveillance softwarethat can be used legally, but in some cases is used to spy on victims.
Typically, users secretly install these stalkerware applications on the personal devices of their loved ones (e.g. spouses, partners, girlfriends, friends, children, colleagues, lovers, etc.).
This way they can track their loved ones' movements, read private conversations, retrieve recent photos, monitor browsing history, view message and call history, and generally keep an eye on the victims at all times.
For a long time, these apps were accepted in the Play Storeas normal, despite the fact that they resembled spyware.
Now, most security companies detect stalkerware apps and display a warning when they are installed on a device.
The warning is not a general notification about malware .It explains to victims the risk they are in.
Other important findings from Kaspersky:
- Doubling of adware infections compared to 2018.
- Exploiting the Android Accessibility service to steal banking credentials.
- Iran is the country with the most Android malware notifications. 60% of Iranian Kaspersky users installed at least one malicious app during 2019.
- The HiddenAd adware family was the most widespread threat of 2019.
- In 2019, Kaspersky detected 68,362 Android apps infected with mobile ransomware. A decrease in attacks in late 2019 means that Android ransomware is losing its popularity.
