Spyware 

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Latest news on spyware, covering Pegasus spyware and NSO Group, commercial surveillance tools, stalkerware, spybots, keyloggers (key logging and keystroke logging), keystroke loggers, adware, browser hijackers, foistware, loyaltyware, remote access trojans, malware, ad blocking and spyware removal.

Spyware is software that secretly gathers information about a person or organisation and sends it to someone else. It can record keystrokes, capture screens, read messages, track location and switch on a microphone. Some spyware is sold to governments, some is used by criminals, and some is installed on a partner's phone without consent.

Commercial spyware is the best-known strand. Pegasus, sold by Israel's NSO Group, was identified on the phone of the UAE human rights defender Ahmed Mansoor by Citizen Lab researchers in August 2016, and Apple issued a security update in response. In November 2021 the US added NSO Group to its Entity List, and in 2025 a US jury awarded damages against it to WhatsApp over a 2019 hacking campaign. On 15 September 2026 the UK's National Cyber Security Centre and partners in the US and the Netherlands exposed an Iranian state-linked spyware family called CHOSEN BRICK, used against dissidents, activists and journalists.

Spyware also affects ordinary users. Stalkerware is hidden software that lets an abuser follow messages, photos and location, and the Coalition Against Stalkerware was launched in November 2019 by security firms and domestic abuse organisations. Adware, browser hijackers and foistware bundle tracking into free downloads, while keyloggers and remote access trojans give attackers control of a device. People rely on software updates, anti-spyware and antivirus tools, app permission checks and spyware removal guides.

Governments and campaigners disagree over how far surveillance tools should be allowed. Supporters say lawful interception helps police and intelligence agencies fight serious crime, while critics say such tools have been used against journalists and political opponents. The UK and France launched the Pall Mall Process in 2024 to set voluntary best practice for states on commercial cyber intrusion tools, although it is not binding.

The word spyware appeared in a Usenet post in October 1995, when it meant espionage hardware. Its modern sense of software that secretly monitors users took hold around 1999 and 2000, when researchers uncovered adware bundled with free programs and one of them built an early anti-spyware tool called OptOut. Pop-up advertising software such as Gator, later renamed Claria, was widely described as an early spyware company.

Staying informed matters when a hidden program can read your messages. Our NewsNow spyware news feed brings together the latest headlines on spyware, stalkerware, Pegasus, keyloggers, adware, remote access trojans and malware from reliable sources worldwide, so you have a comprehensive, up-to-date view.