surveillance

Pierluigi Paganini August 09, 2025
Germany limits police spyware use to serious crimes

Germany’s top court ruled police can use spyware only for crimes punishable by at least three years in prison. Germany’s top court ruled that police may only use spyware to monitor devices in cases involving crimes with a maximum sentence of at least three years. “The interference with both the fundamental right protecting IT-systems and Art. 10(1) of […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 16, 2025
New Predator spyware infrastructure revealed activity in Mozambique for the first time

Insik Group analyzed the new Predator spyware infrastructure and discovered it’s still gaining users despite U.S. sanctions since July 2023. Despite earlier declines in activity due to U.S. sanctions and public exposure, Predator spyware has resurged. Insikt Group analyzed a renewed infrastructure linked to the commercial spyware company and identified a new customer in Mozambique, […]

Pierluigi Paganini June 07, 2025
Experts found 4 billion user records online, the largest known leak of Chinese personal data from a single source

Over 4 billion user records were found exposed online in a massive breach, possibly linked to the surveillance of Chinese citizens. Cybersecurity researcher Bob Dyachenko and the Cybernews team discovered a massive data leak in China that exposed billions of documents, including financial, WeChat, and Alipay data, likely affecting hundreds of millions. Researchers speculate data […]

Pierluigi Paganini May 20, 2025
4G Calling (VoLTE) flaw allowed to locate any O2 customer with a phone call

A flaw in O2 4G Calling (VoLTE) leaked user location data via network responses due to improper IMS standard implementation. A flaw in 4G Calling (VoLTE) service of the UK telecom O2 exposed user location data through network responses due to flaws in the IMS standard implementation. 4G Calling, also known as VoLTE (Voice over […]

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 Slaviša 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 12, 2024
Experts discovered surveillance tool EagleMsgSpy used by Chinese law enforcement

Chinese law enforcement uses the mobile surveillance tool EagleMsgSpy to gather data from Android devices, as detailed by Lookout. Researchers at the Lookout Threat Lab discovered a surveillance tool, dubbed EagleMsgSpy, used by Chinese law enforcement to spy on mobile devices. The researchers analyzed multiple samples of the malware and gained access to internal documents obtained from […]

Pierluigi Paganini February 06, 2024
U.S. Gov imposes visa restrictions on individuals misusing Commercial Spyware

The U.S. government imposes visa restrictions on individuals who are involved in the illegal use of commercial spyware. The U.S. State Department announced it is implementing a new policy to impose visa restrictions on individuals involved in the misuse of commercial spyware. The policy underscores the U.S. government’s commitment to addressing the misuse of surveillance software, […]

Pierluigi Paganini January 29, 2024
NSA buys internet browsing records from data brokers without a warrant

The U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) admitted to buying internet browsing records from data brokers to monitor Americans’ activity online without a court order. U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., released documents that confirmed the National Security Agency (NSA) buys Americans’ internet browsing records without a court order. The data acquired by the intelligence agency can […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 10, 2023
France’s government is giving the police more surveillance power

The French government is going to grant law enforcement the power to spy on suspects through smartphones and other devices. French legislators are going to approve a justice reform bill that also gives more power to law enforcement, allowing them to spy on suspects through their smartphones and other electronic devices. According to the French […]

Pierluigi Paganini July 05, 2023
Swedish data protection authority rules against the use of Google Analytics

Swedish data protection watchdog warns companies against using Google Analytics due to the risk of surveillance operated by the US government. The Swedish data protection watchdog warned businesses against using Google Analytics due to the risk of surveillance carried out by the US government. The Swedish Authority for Privacy Protection (IMY) conducted audits against CDON, […]