The use of spyware designed to monitor people’s private lives through their devices and without permission is increasing.
The general name for this type of spyware is stalkerware.
According to the research conducted by Norton Labs, part of the Norton family of computer security products, there was a 63 percent increase in the use of stalkerware software between September 2020 and May 2021.
Norton Labs thinks this increase is due to people spending more time at home during Covid-19.
After installing Stalkerware software, it allows you to track everything a person does on a computer or phone. If you are close enough, you can also listen to that person’s phone calls.
Maria’s story
Maria, 56, grew up in America in a “loving” Catholic family. His parents wanted Maria to have a marriage that would make him happy, akin to their own relationship.
Maria met her husband in her 20s and immediately fell in love. However, their relationship slowly began to change and turned into a nightmare that would last 25 years.
The unpleasantness between them started with verbal abuse and gradually progressed. Maria’s husband stripped her of her husband’s income from her cleaning job, restricted her movements, and eventually took full control of her children’s care.
She began to complain that her husband, Maria, kept in touch with others and went to work, and forbade her from using her computer.
Maria described those days as follows: “He used to tell me every day that I was fat, and when he got angry he wouldn’t let me in the house.”
Six years ago, when her husband said he wanted her dead, Maria couldn’t take it anymore and asked the people around her for help.
Maria moved in with her older sister and decided to change her life. He bought himself a laptop for the first time in a long time, opened a Facebook account and started meeting new people.
However, she noticed that her ex-husband was starting to appear wherever he went and chasing her in a car. Worried about this, Maria informed the police and learned that her ex-husband was stalking her using the Stalkerware program.
Anti-Stalkerware Coalition
Eva Galperin, Cyber Security Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, founded the Anti-Stalkerware Coalition in 2019 to find a solution to this growing problem.
When Galperin heard about the safety concerns of victims of domestic violence and rape, she decided that such an initiative was needed. He also said that Stalkerware was used in nearly all of the domestic violence cases he faced.
Galperin has been meeting with companies that produce anti-virus programs for two years and is trying to raise awareness about Stalkerware software.
In October, Google decided to remove advertisements for this type of spying software from its website.
Although these software are mostly used by parents who want to spy on their young children, lately they are mostly downloaded by those who want to spy on their lovers.
The US Federal Trade Commission banned the use of software called SpyFone in September on the grounds that it tracked and shared people’s movements.
The Federal Trade Commission is now investigating companies that buy and sell location information over the phone unannounced.
How can you tell if your device has Stalkerware software?
Stalkerware is hard to detect, and even those who are good with technology can sometimes struggle.
A cybersecurity expert speaking to the BBC, who did not want to be named, noticed that after getting engaged, his phone started turning on and off constantly and his battery was draining very quickly.
Both of these are indications that Stalkerware might be installed on the phone.
In some cases, an SMS is sent to people’s phones and asked to click on the link.
Those who suspect that their device has been compromised are recommended to reset their phones to factory settings and reset their social media accounts with authentication methods.
What should be done to prevent the use of stalkerware?
Many countries are already developing laws against the use of this type of software.
Since 2020, ‘surveillance and location tracking’ cases are punishable by up to one year in prison as part of the domestic violence law in France. If the spying person is your lover or spouse, this period may be extended.
But Eva Galperin is among those who think that this problem cannot be completely eliminated by law.
Galperin said that Google and Apple could completely ban the sale of this software in their stores. At the same time, emphasizing the importance of awareness activities on this issue, Galperin explains that studies should be carried out especially with the police.
In the USA, Cornell University established a clinic called CETA to reduce cyber harassment cases. CETA works with victims to collect data and conduct research on this issue.
Rosanna Bellini of CETA says that sometimes victims recommend deleting tracking apps on their phones rather than immediately deleting them, planning what to do next, and getting help if needed.
The reason for this is that there are instances where the follower, who realized that the application was deleted before, became aggressive.
Maria got out of her troubled relationship six years ago and now has a happy one.
Sometimes she still feels anxious, she was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.
But he wants to tell those who have been hacked that they are not alone:
“Don’t be afraid. You can get help. If I’ve done it at 56, anyone can.”