Meet the team that investigates when journalists and activists get hacked with government spyware

For more than a decade, dozens of journalists and human rights activists have been targeted and hacked by governments all over the world. Cops and spies in Ethiopia, Greece, Hungary, India, Mexico, Poland, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates, among Read More …

Surveillance tech provider Protei was hacked, its data stolen, and its website defaced

A Russian telecom company that develops technology to allow phone and internet companies to conduct web surveillance and censorship was hacked, had its website defaced, and had data stolen from its servers, TechCrunch has learned. Founded in Russia, Protei makes Read More …

Mexican drug cartel hacked cameras and phones to spy on FBI and identify witnesses

The “El Chapo” Mexican drug cartel snooped on FBI personnel through hacked cameras, and listened in on their phone calls to identify and kill potential witnesses, the US Department of Justice has said. And seven years on, the Bureau’s defenses Read More …

Eight things we learned from WhatsApp vs. NSO Group spyware lawsuit

On May 6, WhatsApp scored a major victory against NSO Group when a jury ordered the infamous spyware maker to pay more than $167 million in damages to the Meta-owned company. The ruling concluded a legal battle spanning more than Read More …

Court document reveals locations of WhatsApp victims targeted by NSO spyware

NSO Group’s notorious spyware Pegasus was used to target 1,223 WhatsApp users in 51 different countries during a 2019 hacking campaign, according to a new court document. The document was published on Friday as part of the lawsuit that Meta-owned Read More …

Dangerous new botnet targets webcams, routers across the world

Cybersecurity researchers from the Qualys Threat Research Unit have observed a new large-scale operation exploiting vulnerabilities in IP cameras and routers to build out a botnet. In a technical analysis, Qualys said the attackers were mostly exploiting CVE-2017-17215 and CVE-2024-7029, Read More …

Mekotio Banking Trojan Threatens Financial Systems in Latin America

The Mekotio banking trojan is a sophisticated piece of malware that has been active since at least 2015, primarily targeting Latin American countries with the goal of stealing sensitive information — particularly banking credentials — from its targets. Originating in Read More …

Mexican Banks and Cryptocurrency Platforms Targeted With AllaKore RAT

A financially motivated threat actor is targeting Mexican banks and cryptocurrency trading entities with custom packaged installers delivering a modified version of AllaKore RAT – an open-source remote access tool. Lures use Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) naming schemas and Read More …