Stalkerware vendor Retina-X capitulates to vigilante hacker, shuts down "indefinitely"

Cory Doctorow 12:34 pm Tue Mar 6, 2018

Retina-X sold a bunch of spyware apps (PhoneSheriff, TeenShield, SniperSpy and Mobile Spy) that they advised parents to sneak onto their kids' devices, jealous men to sneak onto their girlfriends' devices, and bosses to sneak onto their employees' devices, in order to covertly track their location data, steal their photos and videos, and spy on calls, keystrokes and texts.

Last year, a hacker called Precise Buffalo announced that they had broken into Retina-X's servers and wiped all the data the company was storing on behalf of its surveilling customers; last month, they did it again.

Retina-X says that it's throwing in the towel now, shutting down its apps "indefinitely." Precise Buffalo told Motherboard that they were "pleased" by the news and would be vigilant should Retina-X "just resurface under another name."

“The perpetrators of these illegal acts have been motivated by their unfounded opposition to the private activities of parents and employers on devices they own and with the consent of users of the devices. The perpetrators, who will likely never be identified or brought to justice, have shared their actions with online publications to gain attention. They are cowards who work in the dark and use the media to promote their agenda.”

‘Stalkerware’ Seller Shuts Down Apps ‘Indefinitely’ After Getting Hacked Again [Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai/Motherboard]

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