Support King was banned by Federal Trade Commission, but now they are still operating
A new phone spying software has links to previously banned Support King
A year after it was banned by the Federal Trade Commission, an infamous phone surveillance business is back.
The stalkerware programme SpyFone, its parent company Support King and its CEO Scott Zuckerman were all banned from operating in the security industry by the FTC in 2021. The ruling forced Support King to erase phone data it had improperly gathered and notify victims that its software had been secretly installed on their device, and was unanimously accepted by the regulator’s five currently-serving commissioners.
Apps that are secretly installed by someone with their physical access to a person’s phone under the guise of tracking the family or keeping an eye on the kids are known as stalkerware or spouseware.
The contents of a person’s phone like text messages, images, browsing history and precise location information are secretly uploaded by these apps.
Many of these applications like KidsGuard, TheTruthSpy, and Xnspy have major security flaws, putting thousands of users’ private information at risk.
In comparison to TheTruthSpy, SpyTrac has more than a million user records and is one of the largest known active Android stalkerware operations. SpyTrac has a large international user base, but US users are denied access.
SpyTrac shares a trait with other stalkerware applications because it has the ability to operate covertly on a victim’s device. The programmers are shielded from reputational and legal risks associated with operating a stalkerware firm because of the absence of information about the company’s executives on SpyTrac’s website.
A set of Amazon Web Services private keys were found in one of the server files. These keys provide access to cloud storage connected to Support King and GovAssist, a website that claims to help immigrants get US visas and permits for permanent residence. OneClickMonitor additionally has access to cloud storage using the keys; Support King turned off OneClickMonitor and SpyFone.
Retina-X, a distributor of stalkerware that had been repeatedly infiltrated and eventually shut down, was the target of the FTC’s first legal action in 2020. A year later, Support King was the target of the FTC’s second action. Businesses that disregarded FTC rules risk receiving severe civil penalties. Twitter, for one, was hit with a $150 million fine earlier this year for breaking a 2011 FTC ruling.
