Google Says There is a New Spyware Targeting iOS and Android Users

Google is warning users that have iOS and Android devices that a new spyware is targeting smartphones.

Italian-based RCS Lab claims that European law enforcement agencies are their clientele and that they developed tools to spy on private messages and contacts of targeted devices.

In a report by Google on Thursday, the company confirmed that the RCS Lab tools were used to spy on Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan.

“These vendors are enabling the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools and arming governments that would not be able to develop these capabilities in-house,” Google said.

RCS Lab stated that its products and services comply with European rules and are only used to help law enforcement agencies investigate crimes.

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In a statement to Reuters, RCS Lab said that “RCS Lab personnel are not exposed, nor participate in any activities conducted by the relevant customers.” They also added that they condemn abuse of RCS Lab products.

The industry of spyware for governments has only been growing in recent years and came under the spotlight when Israeli surveillance firm NSO created the Pegasus spyware to spy on journalists, activists, dissidents, and more by many governments.

RCS Lab’s spyware is not as stealthy as the one made by Pegasus, but it still has the ability to read messages and view passwords.

Google researchers found RCS Lab had previously collaborated with a controversial, defunct Italian spy firm named Hacking Team, which had also created surveillance software for foreign governments to tap into phones and computers.

Hacking Team became defunct after it became the victim of a major 2015 hack that led to a many internal documents being disclosed.

Google said that it believes hackers using RCS spyware worked with the target’s internet service provider, suggesting ties to government-backed actors.

The DZSH Group Staff