One of the most widely used stalkerware apps is likely “ridden” with security flaws, risking exposing victims’ data to third parties, experts warn .
Xnspy allows you to monitor the activities of your spouse, partner, or children after being secretly installed on the victim’s device. It then runs silently in the background sending data back to the installer.
research by TechCrunch (opens in new tab) found that, in addition to the already dubious legal issues presented by tools like Xnspy, the underlying technology makes users highly vulnerable to data security issues such as identity theft. did.
What did the researchers uncover?
After months of research, security researchers Vangelis Stykas and Felipe Solferini found the app “easy to exploit” and with many flaws that “probably existed for years.” claimed.
These flaws reportedly included “credentials and private keys left in the code by developers” and “broken or nonexistent encryption.”
Investigations showed that the app primarily targeted Android users, but thousands of iPhones were also reported to have been compromised.
Xnspy reportedly caused 60,000 victims dating back to 2022. TechCrunch It claims to have recorded a recent case, 2022.
Google banned the sale of stalkerware from its app stores in August 2020 and has since removed all ads displayed on its platform, but we’ve barely seen the last of its controversial technology.
The pandemic has significantly increased the number of people deciding to use stalkerware tools.
A study by cybersecurity firm Avast reports a 93% increase in the use of stalking and spyware apps in the UK shortly after lockdown measures were first introduced.