• Articles
    • Editorial Articles
    • Research Articles
    • WatchGuard Articles
  • The 443 Podcast
  • Threat Landscape
  • About
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Contribute to Secplicity

Secplicity - Security Simplified

Powered by WatchGuard Technologies

Creepy App Tracks its Users, Leaks its Database

February 21, 2020 By Trevor Collins

 

As reported by TechCrunch, an app made by ClevGuard called KidsGuard stalks spouses, employees, and children. ClevGuard advertises the app for this purpose as while highlighting the apps stealth capabilities. Lots of these types of apps, called “stalkerware,” exist but this one’s crummier than the rest. The app copies data off of the target’s phone and takes screenshots as well. The app hides itself as a system app and doesn’t provide an icon to uninstall the app. Researchers first investigated this app because they found a public bucket with users’ information from the app on Alibaba Cloud storage. ClevGuard didn’t protect the data in any way so anyone could access the data and download a user’s personal information.

Users can protect themselves by only downloading apps from trusted sources. For this app to install, you, or someone who has access to your phone, must make changes to your security settings and install it. If you purchase a used phone always reset it before you use it. Keep your phone locked and if you do lose track of your phone, check your Google Play Protect settings. For iPhones, Apple doesn’t allow 3rd party apps unless the phone becomes compromised, like when jailbroken. If your friend or partner installs this on your phone you may have other issues than just stalkerware on your phone.

Share This:

Related

Filed Under: Editorial Articles, Uncategorized

Comments

  1. Jean-Pierre Schwickerath says

    February 23, 2020 at 11:16 pm

    Guys, I’m not a native speaker but shouldn’t it be “its” instead of “it’s”?

    Reply
    • Trevor Collins says

      February 24, 2020 at 9:07 am

      edited

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

The 443 Podcast

A weekly podcast featuring the leading white-hat hackers and security researchers. Listen Now
the 443 podcast

Threat Landscape

Filter and view Firebox Feed data by type of attack, region, country, and date range. View Now
threat landscape

Top Posts

  • US National Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Cybersecurity News: Free Cybersecurity Training, TrickBot Group Exposed, Major GoDaddy Breach, and Russia to Legalize cybercrime?!
  • Here Come The Regulations
  • Successfully Prosecuting a Russian Hacker

Email Newsletter

Sign up to get the latest security news and threat analysis delivered straight to your inbox

By signing up you agree to our Privacy Policy.


The views and opinions expressed on this website are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of WatchGuard Technologies.

Stay in Touch

Recent Posts

  • Cybersecurity News: LastPass Incident Revealed, White House Issues Cybersecurity Strategy, FBI Purchases Leaked USHOR PII Data, and a Slew of Other Breaches
  • An Update on Section 230
  • Here Come The Regulations
  • US National Cybersecurity Strategy
  • Cybersecurity News: Free Cybersecurity Training, TrickBot Group Exposed, Major GoDaddy Breach, and Russia to Legalize cybercrime?!
View All

Search

Archives

Copyright © 2023 WatchGuard Technologies · Cookie Policy · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use