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Italian spy software manufacturer known to sell their products Sio Government customersWhatsApp and other popular applications are behind a number of malicious Android applications that are masquatic, but steals specific information from the target device, techcrunch learned only.
Last year last year, a security researcher shared three Android applications with Techcrunch, claimed that government spy programs used in Italy against unknown victims. TechCrunch, Google and mobile security firm’s apps have been wanted and both have confirmed that the applications are spy software.
This discovery indicates that the world is Government spy program The number of companies developing both spy software both, but also different methods of targeting individuals.
Italy has been in recent weeks collar one The ongoing scandal Alleged use of a complex spy tool made by Israel Spyware Maker Paragraph. Spyware is capable of targeting remote WhatsApp users and claimed to steal and use their data from their phones against a journalist and two founders A NGO that helps and saves immigrants in the Mediterranean.
Damaged app samples shared with TechCrunch, Spyware Maker and its government’s customer have used more pedestrian hacking techniques: develop and distribute malicious Android applications with customer support tools such as WhatsApp and mobile phone providers.
Security researchers are called Spyrtacus after finding the word shared with TechCrunch, the Android spy program, which belongs to the malware sample of the malicious program.
LookOut said Spyrtacus has all the signs of the government’s spy programs. (Another Kibersalure company, who asked for a spy program for Techcrunch, but also not named, can also steal text messages, as well as Facebook Messenger, signal and WhatsApp; Type the contact information; Write the voices of telephone conversations and environments through the device’s microphone and image through the device’s cameras; between other functions that serve control objectives.
According to LookOut, a few examples of the malware that analyzed the company previously analyzed, as well as the company, all developed by Sio An Italian company selling a spy program to the Italian government.
The applications, as well as the sites used to distribute them, Italian, the spy program is commendable by the Italian law enforcement.
The Italian government, as well as a spokesperson for the Ministry of Justice, did not respond to TechCrunch’s application.
At the moment, according to the Lookout and other security company, it is known who targeted with the spy program.
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Do you have more information about Sio or other spy apps? You can contact the signal securely with Lorenzo Franceschi-Bichierai, which is a unemployed device and network +1 917 257 1382 or telegram and keybase @lorenzofb or Email. You can also contact TechCrunch Secretary.
Sio did not respond to more than one request for comment. TechCrunch reached the President and CEO Elio Cattaneo, the CEO; And, including several great guides, CFO Claudio Pezzano and CTO Alberto Fabbri, but did not hear the TechCrunch back.
A researcher Christina Bilam in Lookout, a researcher, found 13 different spyware samples in the company, the most recent example of the oldest malware, October 17, 2024. The other examples were added to the Bilam, found between 2020-2022. Some examples of samples have said that italian mobile phone providers in Italian mobile phone providers, Vodafone and Windtre.
Google spokesman Ed Fernandez, “No app was found in any application, which is found in this harmful program,” Android has allowed Android to protect this malicious program since 2022. “The older versions of the Spytacus spy program asked if Google was in the App Store, Fernandez said that this is the company that it is the company.
Kaspersky said inside 2024 sheet The People’s Spy Program behind Spyrtacus began to spread through applications in Google Play in 2018, but by 2019 to host the applications on harmful webpages to be similar to some of the best Internet providers. Kaspersky, researchers also said that they found a Windows version of the Malware of the Malware of the Spirtakus and found signs that indicate the availability of harmful software versions for iOS and MacOS.
Pizza, Spaghetti and spy software
Italy hosts some early state spy software companies in the world in two decades. Sio is the latest in a long list of spy software manufacturers observed by people who target people in the real world by productive researchers.
In 2003, two Italian hacker David Vincenzetti and Valeriano Bedeschi, one of the first companies for the international market, law enforcement agencies, law enforcement agencies and law enforcement agencies for law enforcement agencies and government intelligence agencies are on the world. The Hacking team continued to sell the spy program to Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia and the agencies in South Korea and others.
In the last decade, they found several other Italian companies that sell spyware, including security researchers Cy4gate, Esurv, Gra systems, neggency, Labeland RCS Laboratory.
Some of these companies had spy software products distributed in a similar way similar to the Spy Spy program. Scope found in Italy In the investigation in 2018 This shows that the Italian Ministry of Justice is a price list and catalog to send malicious text messages to install a harmful application in order to install a harmful application to activate telephone services, for example.
In case of cy4gate, Anakart was found in 2021 The company did to deceive targets to install the false WhatsApp applications spy program.
There are several elements pointing to the Sio’s spy program as a company behind. Lookout has found some Command and control servers According to a community used to manage the malware remote, Sio’s subsidiary is registered in a company called Asian Sio Document Since 2024, it says that Asia develops programs and services related to the computer.
The Legal Mixed Academy is an independent Italian organization that releases compliance certificates for spyware manufacturers operating in the country, Sio lists as a certificate owner List Asia as a product owner for a spy software product called SioAgent. Observation and intelligence trading art internet in 2022 declare This was Sio ASIGinT.
Michele Fiorentino is the CEO of Asia and according to LinkedIn profile, located in Caserta, Italy outside Naples. Fiorentino says that the Spyrtacus project is working on the project, otherwise the other company and the company’s participation in the development of the company’s spy program.
LookOut, another command and control server related to the spy program is reported.
Dataforense and Fiorentino did not respond to a request for comment sent by Email and LinkedIn.
According to LookOut and other open cyberecurity firm, there is a source code in one of the SPyrtacus samples working for those who managed to be potentially from the Naples. The source code contains words, “Scopeve Guagliune ‘e Malavita,” Neapolitan dialect “, which is part of traditional words” Neapolitan dialect ” Neapolitan song “Guapparia.”
Italian spy software manufacturers will not be the first time that the spy programs are released. In case of Esurv, Now-defunct spy programmer from the southern region of Calabria In 2019, developers, developers, the words “Mundizza” in the CashWare code, called Calabrian football player Gennaro Gattuson for the words Calabrian.
Although these are small details, all the signs point to Sio as behind this spy program. However, the questions will be answered about the campaign, including the use of the government of the client SPIZAKUS spy program and who was against.
