Security News > 2022 > December > Facebook Cracks Down on Spyware Vendors from U.S., China, Russia, Israel, and India

The social media conglomerate also took steps to disable accounts and block infrastructure operated by spyware vendors, including in China, Russia, Israel, the U.S. and India, that targeted individuals in about 200 countries.

A second set of 250 accounts on Facebook and Instagram linked to another Israeli company called QuaDream was found "Engaged in a similar testing activity between their own fake accounts, targeting Android and iOS devices in what we assess to be an attempt to test capabilities to exfiltrate various types of data including messages, images, video and audio files, and geolocation."

What's more, Meta said it removed more than 5,000 accounts belonging to companies such as Social Links, Cyber Globes, Avalanche, and an unattributed entity in China that used the fraudulent accounts to scrape publicly available information and market "Web intelligence services."

Nearly 3,700 of those Facebook and Instagram accounts were linked to Social Links, with the China-based network of 900 accounts targeting military personnel, activists, government employees, politicians, and journalists in Myanmar, India, Taiwan, the U.S., and China.

Besides relying on fake accounts, spyware vendors have also been caught relying on other legitimate tools to conceal their origin and conduct malicious activities.

Nearly 3,700 of those Facebook and Instagram accounts were attributed to Social Links, with the China-based network of 900 accounts targeting military personnel, activists, government employees, politicians, and journalists in Myanmar, India, Taiwan, the U.S., and China.

News URL

https://thehackernews.com/2022/12/facebook-cracks-down-on-spyware-vendors.html