QuaDream spyware hacked iPhone victims with rogue calendar invites

[vtqhtr413]

Content source

https://techcrunch.com/2023/04/11/quadream-spyware-hacked-iphones-calendar-invites/

Hackers using spyware made by a little-known cyber mercenary company used malicious calendar invites to hack the iPhones of journalists, political opposition figures, and an NGO worker, according to two reports. Researchers at Microsoft and the digital rights group Citizen Lab analyzed samples of malware they say was created by QuaDream, an Israeli spyware maker that has been reported to develop zero-click exploits — meaning hacking tools that don’t require the target to click on malicious links — for iPhones.The analyzed samples include the initial payload, which is designed to then download the actual malware — the second sample — if it’s on the device of the intended target. The final payload records phone calls, record audio using the phone’s microphone surreptitiously, take pictures, steal files, track the person’s granular location, and delete forensic traces of its own existence,

Mercenary spyware hacked iPhone victims with rogue calendar invites, researchers say

Researchers found malware developed by QuaDream, a little-known government spyware maker, which was used against journalists and politicians.

techcrunch.com

 

[[correlate]]

Threat actors using hacking tools from an Israeli surveillanceware vendor named QuaDream targeted at least five members of civil society in North America, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.
According to findings from a group of researchers from the Citizen Lab, the spyware campaign was directed against journalists, political opposition figures, and an NGO worker in 2021. The names of the victims were not disclosed.

Israel-based Spyware Firm QuaDream Targets High-Risk iPhones with Zero-Click Exploit

Microsoft and Citizen Lab uncover QuaDream spyware compromising high-risk individuals' iPhones with zero-click ENDOFDAYS exploit.

thehackernews.com

 

[vtqhtr413]

Israeli spyware vendor QuaDream is allegedly shutting down its operations in the coming days, less than a week after its hacking toolset was exposed by Citizen Lab and Microsoft. The development was reported by the Israeli business newspaper Calcalist, citing unnamed sources, adding the company "hasn't been fully active for a while" and that it "has been in a difficult situation for several months." The company's board of directors are looking to sell off its intellectual property, the report further added.

Israeli Spyware Vendor QuaDream to Shut Down Following Citizen Lab and Microsoft Expose

Israeli spyware vendor QuaDream is reportedly shutting down its operations after its hacking toolset was exposed by Citizen Lab and Microsoft.

thehackernews.com