A US man has been fined $500,000 for selling the StealthGenie malware in the first prosecution for posting mobile spyware
The police arrested Hamant Akbar, 31, in September after he is alleged to have sold the malicious software to a secret agent in 2012.
Akbar, who is a Danish citizen, sold the Stealth Genie malware that could track calls, SMS and media as well as location for Apple, Android and Blackberry devices to more than 100,000 "customers," according to a promotional video on YouTube.
Andrew McCabe, assistant director of the FBI, said Akbar was the first person caught selling spyware.
«This illegal software gives owners the option to monitor every movement of a person without them knowing”, said McCabe. “As technology evolves, the FBI will continue to evolve to protect consumers from those who sell illegal spyware.”
Akbar was sentenced to serve time, fined half a million dollars, and ordered to hand over the source code of Stealth Genie.
The app appears to have been attempting to root Android phones and was detected by some anti-virus apps.
StealthGenie required access to the victim's phone in order to install the application and run as a background service.
