It’s been a lengthy ride, but Google has finally taken action against Catwatchful, a known spyware usage pilfering on its servers. TechCrunch flagged this issue nearly a month ago, and although we didn’t hear back from Google right away, they’ve now shut down the account responsible for this shady operation.
Google Has Acted: Shutdown of Catwatchful’s Account
Catwatchful has been functioning as a phone surveillance tool on Google’s Firebase infrastructure for a significant time. A representative from Google confirmed to TechCrunch, stating, “After looking into these Firebase operations we’ve received reports about, we’ve suspended them for breaking our terms of service.”
Initially passed off as a so-called “child monitoring” application on Android, this spyware morphs into something more sinister once it’s installed. It’s set up to gather invaluable user data—photos, messages, GPS tracking, and even emails—all while staying stealthy in the background.
Worse yet, a discovery led by Eric Daigle disclosed that this spyware was tied to a major data breach. A staggering amount of 62,000 usernames and passwords were stored unprotected, plain as day, alongside compromising 26,000 Android devices. What’s alarming is that anyone could snoop through this data without any verification.
A Month Long Wait: Shutting Down Catwatchful
Catwatchful stands out as one of those spyware agents meddling in crucial personal data, all while boasting very dubious authentication and safety standards. Yes, Google did move to close down the developer’s account, but it took almost a month to conclude the investigation and execute the account suspension. The speed of response could’ve been much better. Incidents like this really shine a light on the urgent need for improved data privacy practices online.
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