Mobile

Pierluigi Paganini March 03, 2025
Serbian student activist’s phone hacked using Cellebrite zero-day exploit

Amnesty International reports that a Cellebrite zero-day exploit was used to unlock a Serbian activist’s Android phone. Amnesty International reported that a Cellebrite zero-day exploit was used to unlock the Android smartphone of a Serbian activist. In a statement published on 25 February 2025, Cellebrite announced that it had blocked Serbia from using its solution after reports that police […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 27, 2025
Cellebrite blocked Serbia from using its solution because misuse of the equipment for political reasons

Cellebrite blocked Serbia from using its solution after reports that police used it to unlock and infect the phones of a journalist and activist. A report published by Amnesty International in December 2024 documented the use of Cellebrite’s forensics tools by Serbia police to unlock and install spyware on the phones of a local journalist and […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 26, 2025
New LightSpy spyware variant comes with enhanced data collection features targeting social media platforms

Researchers found an updated LightSpy spyware with enhanced data collection features targeting social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. Cybersecurity researchers at Hunt.io have found an updated version of the LightSpy spyware that supports an expanded set of data collection features to target social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram. ThreatFabric researchers first discovered a […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 24, 2025
SpyLend Android malware found on Google Play enabled financial cyber crime and extortion

CYFIRMA researchers discovered that the SpyLend Android malware was downloaded 100,000 times from the official app store Google Play. CYFIRMA researchers discovered an Android malware, named SpyLend, which was distributed through Google Play as Finance Simplified. The malware targets Indian users with unauthorized loan apps, enabling predatory lending, blackmail, and extortion. The Finance Simplified app […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 10, 2025
Apple fixes iPhone and iPad bug exploited in ‘extremely sophisticated attacks’

Apple released iOS and iPadOS updates to address a zero-day likely exploited in extremely sophisticated attacks targeting specific individuals. Apple released emergency security updates to address a zero-day vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2025-24200, that the company believes was exploited in “extremely sophisticated” targeted attacks. An attacker could have exploited the vulnerability to disable the USB Restricted […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 10, 2025
UK Gov demands backdoor to access Apple iCloud backups worldwide

UK secretly demands Apple create an iCloud backdoor via a Technical Capability Notice, raising privacy concerns over end-to-end encryption. The UK demands Apple to create a backdoor to access any iCloud backups, the request raises concerns about user privacy and undermines Apple’s security commitments. “The British government’s undisclosed order, issued last month, requires blanket capability […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 05, 2025
SparkCat campaign target crypto wallets using OCR to steal recovery phrases

In late 2024, Kaspersky experts discovered a malicious campaign, called SparkCat, spreading malware to target crypto wallets. In March 2023, ESET found malware in modified versions of messengers using OCR to scan the victim’s gallery for images with recovery phrases to restore access to crypto wallets. In late 2024, Kaspersky discovered a new malicious campaign, […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 03, 2025
FireScam Android info-stealing malware supports spyware capabilities

FireScam malware steals credentials and financial data by monitoring Android app notifications and sending data to a Firebase database. Cybersecurity firm Cyfirma warns of the FireScam Android info-stealing malware that supports spyware capabilities. The malicious code steals credentials and financial data by monitoring app notifications and sending the information to a Firebase database. The malware […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 16, 2024
Report claims that Serbian authorities abused Cellebrite tool to install NoviSpy spyware

Researchers warn of previously undetected surveillance spyware, named NoviSpy, that was found infecting a Serbian journalist’s phone. In February 2024, Serbian journalist SlaviĆĄa Milanov was summoned to a police station after a routine traffic stop. After the police released him, Milanov noticed suspicious changes to his phone settings, such as disabled data and Wi-Fi. Then […]

Pierluigi Paganini December 13, 2024
Experts discovered the first mobile malware families linked to Russia’s Gamaredon

The Russia-linked APT Gamaredon used two new Android spyware tools called BoneSpy and PlainGnome against former Soviet states. Lookout researchers linked the BoneSpy and PlainGnome Android surveillance families to the Russian APT group Gamaredon (a.k.a. Armageddon, Primitive Bear, and ACTINIUM). These are the first known mobile malware families linked to the Russian APT.  The cyberespionage group is behind a […]