iPhones and Android smartphones have been targeted by Hermit spyware
Hermit, an Italian spyware, has been used to attack iPhones and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan. Apple and Google, which manage iOS and Android respectively, have taken steps to block this spyware.
“These companies facilitate the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools and arm governments that would not otherwise be able to develop these skills”, has indicated Google. The group’s engineers explain that users of iPhones and Android smartphones have received a link to install malicious applications, which then make it possible to spy on their activity or extract documents. In some cases, hackers act with the complicity of Internet providers and applications resemble those of operators. Otherwise, they pretend to be messengers, like WhatsApp.
According to Google, the software used is that of RCS Lab, an Italian company that “provides state-of-the-art technology solutions to security services for communication surveillance”according to its website.
For its part, Google alerted affected users and updated Google Play Protect (which scans Android applications to ensure there are no viruses/malware) to block the Hermit spyware. For its part, Apple has revoked all known accounts and certificates that are associated with or used by the spyware. Neither company has revealed the exact number of users affected by Hermit or the amount of data stolen.
