Stalkerware Installation Attempts in 2019 Jump 35% Globally; India Witnesses Major Drop

Oct. 14, 2019

“The good news is that even though the number of users that encountered a stalkerware has increased 35% globally, we have seen a drastic drop of approximately 67% in India, which shows that we are moving in the right direction in progressing as a ‘Digitally Smart’ nation,”said Saurabh Sharma, Senior Security Researcher (GReAT), Kaspersky (APAC) in an official statement.

Note: For those unaware, stalkerware is monitoring software or spyware that’s used for stalking, i.e. surveilling another individual. The term was coined when people started to widely use commercial spyware to spy on their spouses or intimate partners.

These programs usually run hidden in the background, without the victim’s knowledge or consent. They are often promoted as software for spying on people’s partners. “We have done a lot to increase the stalkerware detection capabilities of our products in the last few months and will continue to do so alongside other industry players as we support the fight against stalkers. But there are still problems to solve,” says Sharma.

Closing off the discussion, Vladimir Kuskov, Security Expert at Kaspersky states,“To find and agree on a definition of stalkerware that can be acknowledged by everybody in the industry. This would help distinguish such software better, and therefore better protect users from abusers of their privacy.”