687 views
In 2020, Russians were worst-hit by stalkerware in the world
Nearly 54 thousand users encountered stalkerware attacks last year.
According to Kaspersky Lab, in 2020, almost 54,000 users around the world encountered so-called stalker software, i.e. surveillance programmes, which may not be used on a device without its owner's knowledge in many countries, where it is considered an offence subject to legal prosecution.
Russia came in top place among the five countries where users were faced with this type of software most often, followed by Brazil, the United States, India and Mexico.
“During the pandemic, the number of users detecting stalkerware on their devices decreased. People started to spend much more time at home, and the relevance of surveillance tools dropped. But this threat must not be underestimated. As soon as the world returns to normal, the stalkerware dissemination rate may grow again,” said Viktor Chebyshev, an expert responsible for researching mobile threats at Kaspersky Lab. “We want to remind you how you can mitigate the risk of being faced with such software by technical means. You need first to generate different sophisticated passwords for each of your digital devices and, if possible, avoid sharing them with anyone. You should also change the settings as to restrict the option of installing apps from unknown sources. There are also responsive solutions, such as Kaspersky Internet Security for Android designed to notify the user of the presence of stalkerware on the device.”
In 2020, Kaspersky Lab developed TinyCheck, a software solution intended for non-profit organizations that help victims of harassment and domestic violence. It is installed not on a smartphone, but on a Raspberry Pi microcomputer, an independent device. This is aimed to prevent the surveillance initiator from learning about the check. This device must be configured to operate as an intermediary between the router and the gadget connected to Wi-Fi. Then TinyCheck will be able to check outbound Internet traffic, analyse it in real time and detect connections to control centres of stalkerware developers. Traffic analysis takes about 15 minutes.
In November 2019, the Coalition Against Stalkerware was formed to combat the violence and harassment supported by surveillance software. Besides Kaspersky Lab, the organization currently includes over 30 members such as manufacturers of information security solutions and non-profit institutions that extend help to victims of violence. Taking into account the global social significance of the problem, as well as the regular emergence of new samples of such programs, the Coalition Against Stalkerware is open to new partnerships and encourages various organizations to cooperate.
Learn more at www.stopstalkerware.org. Information is currently available in English, French, Italian, Spanish, German and Portuguese.