Hackers Hid Poorly Targeted Malware in Plain Sight On Google Play Store

ronjor · Mar 29, 2019

by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai and Riccardo Coluccini Mar 29 2019

Security researchers have found a new kind of government malware that was hiding in plain sight within apps on Android’s Play Store. And they appear to have uncovered a case of lawful intercept gone wrong.
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ronjor · Apr 1, 2019

Prosecutors Launch Investigation Into Company That Put Malware on Google Play Store

by Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai Apr 1 2019, 11:14am
Italian government authorities have launched an inquiry into eSurv, a company that made spyware apps that it concealed as legitimate and innocuous-looking apps on the Google Play Store.
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guest · Apr 8, 2019

Exodus Spyware Found Targeting Apple iOS Users
The surveillance tool was signed with legitimate Apple developer certificates
April 8, 2019
https://threatpost.com/exodus-spyware-apple-ios/143544/

The spyware that was recently found lurking in 25 different malicious apps on Google Play has been ported to the Apple iOS ecosystem.
According to Lookout Security, it turns out that iOS versions had become available outside the App Store, through phishing sites that imitate Italian and Turkmenistani mobile carriers. These are notable in that they abused the Apple Developer Enterprise program.

Analysis of the Android samples led the researchers to several samples of an iOS variant, which further examination revealed to be served up on clever phishing sites. The adversaries spoofed both Wind Tre SpA, an Italian telecom operator, and TMCell, the state-owned mobile operator in Turkmenistan, to target iPhone users, according to Lookout.
Abusing Legit Enterprise Development Tools
In order to spread the iOS app outside of the official App Store, the cybercriminals abused Apple’s enterprise provisioning system, which allowed them to sign the apps using legitimate Apple certificates.
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guest · Jan 28, 2020

Italian Spyware Company Execs Arrested After Company Employees Spied On Innocent Citizens
January 28, 2020
https://www.techdirt.com/articles/2...mpany-employees-spied-innocent-citizens.shtml

The perfect storm of illicit surveillance and snooping comes from companies that sell spy tools to law enforcement but retain control of the servers where the personal data and communications are stored. An Italian developer, Diego Fasano, followed up his successful medical records app with something far more troubling: law enforcement spyware deployed with the aid of service providers.

The software was popular. Prosecutors all over Italy bought Fasano's product. So did Italy's NSA, L'Agenzia Informazioni e Sicurezza Esterna. There's no telling how much the government slurped from targets' phones over the years, but one prosecutor discovered the truth about eSurv's operations on accident.
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For now, it's only eSurv's principals being investigated. But it does highlight the danger this malware poses, even when it's supposedly only being used for good.
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The Crime-Fighting App That Caused a Phone-Hacking Scandal in Italy

jaypeecee · May 12, 2020

Hi Folks,

Is the 'Exodus' spyware referenced in post #3 above the same as the Exodus Privacy app for Android? I have this installed on my phone and it wasn't detected as suspicious by Sophos Intercept X, which I also have installed on my phone.

JPC

jaypeecee · Oct 28, 2020

Hi Folks,

I have been using Exodus Privacy on my Android devices since posting above. I use it whenever installing new apps and more. This is what I'm referring to:

https://exodus-privacy.eu.org/en/

It lists trackers and permissions for each installed app.

JPC

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