According to BigG engineers, the software of the Milanese company Rcs Lab would be used by hackers to monitor user activities and extract data from their mobile devices, both with Android and iOs operating systems 24 Jun 2022 Domenico Aliperto placeholder image
Hacking tools from an Italian company have been used to spy on Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan. This was revealed by Google, which also provided the name of the company. This is Rcs Lab, based in Milan, whose website claims European law enforcement as customers. The group develops solutions to monitor private messages and contacts of targeted devices. Google engineers explain that the victims, owners of smartphones with Android and iOs operating systems, received a link that installs malicious applications, which then allow them to spy on their activity on the mobile phone or extract data. In some cases, hackers may act with the complicity of internet providers, and the apps resemble those of well-known operators. Index of topics • An increasingly consistent phenomenon • The activities of Rcs Lab An increasingly consistent phenomenon "These vendors are enabling the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools and arming governments that would not be able to develop these capabilities internally," Google said.
The global industry that produces spyware for governments is also growing, with more and more companies developing interception tools for law enforcement. Anti-surveillance activists accuse them of helping governments that in some cases use such tools to crack down on human rights and civil rights. The industry has been in the spotlight particularly since it was discovered that Pegasus spyware from Israeli surveillance firm NSO has been used by multiple governments to spy on journalists, activists and dissidents. The activities of Rcs Lab Reuters explains that Google researchers found that RCS Lab had previously collaborated with the controversial and defunct Italian spy company Hacking Team, which had similarly created surveillance software to allow foreign governments to tap into phones and computers. Hacking Team went bankrupt after falling victim to a serious hack in 2015 that led to the disclosure of numerous internal documents. In some cases, Google said it believed the hackers using RCS spyware worked with the target's internet service provider, "which suggests they had ties to government-backed actors," said Billy Leonard, a senior researcher at Google. For its part, RCS Lab has specified that its products and services comply with European standards and help law enforcement agencies investigate crimes. "RCS Lab staff are not exposed, nor participate in any activity conducted by affected customers," he said in response to Reuters and stressing condemnation of any abuse of its products. Google has in any case taken measures to protect users of its Android operating system and has warned them of spyware. A necessary act, because even though RCS Lab's tool may not be as invasive as Pegasus, it is still able to read messages and view passwords, said Bill Marczak, a security researcher at Citizen Lab. "This shows that even though connected devices are ubiquitous, there is still a long way to go to protect them from these powerful attacks."