SPY
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Digital security experts announced today their discovery of malicious software that targets Android and iOS users located in various Asian countries.

A team of digital security experts announced today their discovery of Goontact, novel spyware that targets Android and iOS users located in multiple Asian countries. The digital experts belonged to the Lookout Threat Intelligence team of Lookout, Inc., one of the top performers when it comes to mobile security. According to the security experts, Goontact targets illicit site users and then steals the personal information stored on their mobile units.

According to the digital security experts, they have evidence that shows the sextortion scams resulting from the Goontact campaign affect Korean-, Chinese-, and Japanese-speaking individuals. They also said it is possible that the spyware already reached and operating in Vietnam and Thailand. The Lookout Threat Intelligence team revealed they found evidence that the sextortion campaign, which targets Android and iOS users, may have been operating since 2018 and is still very much active today.

The digital security experts from Lookout said that the ultimate goal of Goontact creators is most likely to blackmail or extort from Android and iOS users. They arrived at this conclusion after analyzing the amount of information that the spyware can extract from your mobile device, which includes phone numbers and device identifiers, SMS messages, contact information, photos on external storage, and in some cases, even location data.

The Lookout Threat Intelligence team admitted that they still do not know the culprits behind the development of Goontact, though the digital experts said that based on their research, it is highly likely that the spyware, which targets Android and iOS users, is the latest addition to the group's arsenal. The Lookout team also expressed their belief that the culprits are a private crime organization and not nation-state actors.

Many individuals keep confidential data on their phones to make it easier for them to go about their daily transactions. However, digital security experts say this convenience has a price as it also makes it easier for cybercriminals to engineer attacks on the devices and steal whatever information it contains. In the case of Goontact, cybercriminals successfully ran extortion campaigns on unsuspecting mobile device owners.

The Lookout Threat Security team also revealed that the extortion scam starts when potential targets, who are either Android or iOS users, are lured into starting a conversation on websites that offer escort services. In reality, however, the targets converse with Goontact operators who talk them into installing mobile applications that are supposed to improve user experience. According to the Lookout team, these mobile applications have no real user functionality except to infiltrate the device and steal confidential information.