{"id":16473,"date":"2019-10-01T08:10:08","date_gmt":"2019-10-01T16:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/10\/01\/news-10213\/"},"modified":"2019-10-01T08:10:08","modified_gmt":"2019-10-01T16:10:08","slug":"news-10213","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.palada.net\/index.php\/2019\/10\/01\/news-10213\/","title":{"rendered":"For Cybersecurity and Domestic Violence Awareness months, we pledge to fight stalkerware"},"content":{"rendered":"

Credit to Author: Wendy Zamora| Date: Tue, 01 Oct 2019 15:00:14 +0000<\/strong><\/p>\n

Starting today, two hallmark holidays are upon us. No, it\u2019s not Halloween and Thanksgiving. It\u2019s both Cybersecurity Awareness Month<\/a> and Domestic Violence Awareness Month<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s no coincidence these two awareness campaigns overlap. What were once seen as separate realities\u2014the physical and the digital\u2014are increasingly blurred as our offices, schools, and hospitals move from paper to screen. Our homes are operationally Internet-connected, and our personal and professional relationships are colored by the way we interact online. <\/p>\n

Through the ubiquity of mobile devices and social media, an argument can be made that we\u2019re already living in an augmented reality. And there is no better evidence than the real-life fallout experienced by victims of technological abuse\u2014cyberattacks lead to identity theft and empty bank accounts, frozen assets for businesses, or worse, whole cities shutting down<\/a>. <\/p>\n

But no line is as blurry as the one toed by domestic violence abusers, who use software called stalkerware<\/a> to leverage their partner\u2019s digital footprint for physical control. And it\u2019s stalkerware that we\u2019re here to talk about\u2014and hopefully eradicate\u2014as we kick off a month of continued awareness and action. <\/p>\n

In honor of Cybersecurity and Domestic Violence Awareness months, then, we renew our pledge to fight stalkerware. And we encourage other vendors to step up their efforts so we can work together to stomp out this scourge on the Internet once and for all.<\/p>\n

What is stalkerware?<\/h3>\n

Stalkerware is software that was created to monitor a person\u2019s activities on their computer or, more commonly, their mobile device\u2014without that person\u2019s knowledge. Though often advertised as a tool for parents<\/a> to track their children\u2019s activities, these apps are more commonly used for nefarious purposes. <\/p>\n

Stalkerware applications can track unsuspecting victims\u2019 locations, record calls, view text messages, pry into locally-stored photos, and rifle through web-browsing activity, all while hidden from view. To highlight, here is a list of information that stalkerware can gather\u2014all of which can be sent to a remote user\u2014as well as activities an abuser can conduct on a user\u2019s device without their knowing or consent:<\/p>\n