INTERPOL supporting Coalition Against Stalkerware to fight tech-enabled abuse

The International Criminal Police Organization to enhance the ability of the global law enforcement community to investigate the use of stalkerware and support victims requesting assistance

Monitoring someone through their phone or computer, is a form of violence and causes considerable fear for victims. Nevertheless, ‘stalkerware’ – commercial software that allows perpetrators to secretly monitor others through their devices – is a real threat that has spread rapidly, especially during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Scale of the issue

Domestic violence has intensified since the outbreak of the pandemic, with the United Nations calling violence against women during COVID-19 a “shadow pandemic”. 

Partners of the Coalition Against Stalkerware across the world  also reported a stark increase of the domestic violence and tech abuse incidents in 2020. Additionally, cybersecurity companies marked a rise in the use of stalkerware since the beginning of the pandemic, closely associated with a parallel increase in domestic violence cases during lockdowns. For instance, Avast Threat Labs has found a 55.2% increase in stalkerware since the start of the Covid-19.

Global, collective action

Fighting against the multifaceted issue of stalkerware requires global and collective action from cybersecurity vendors, non-governmental organizations, law enforcement, and academia. For this reason, 10 key actors in the global cybersecurity ecosystem have come together and created the Coalition Against Stalkerware, a global initiative to provide support to survivors of domestic violence, to combat the use of stalkerware, and to work towards increasing public awareness about this issue. Since its inception, the coalition has grown to more than 35 members across the world, gaining strong momentum in helping to combat and educate against these threats.

The Coalition’s partners work to drive real outcomes through their collaboration, including: improving technical detection of stalkerware, developing a stalkerware sample and metadata information sharing mechanism; providing series of informational and technical assistance seminars to support organizations working with survivors of domestic violence and other individuals targeted by stalkerware.

“We understand that all key partners must join together to fight against this pervasive tactic of abuse. Giving that law enforcement should be able to identify and respond to the threats posed by stalkerware, it’s great to see the INTERPOL devoted to working with their global community around the topic of intimate partner violence, unwanted surveillance and abuse,” said Tara Hairston, Official Representative of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, Head of Public Affairs, North America at Kaspersky. “Alongside the INTERPOL and our other partners, we will work to ensure no survivor ever has to fall victim to stalkerware again.” 

INTERPOL will promote training sessions developed by the Coalition to its 194 member countries to enhance the ability to investigate the use of stalkerware, support victims requesting assistance, and hold perpetrators accountable.

“INTERPOL is committed to supporting the Coalition Against Stalkerware in its fight against abuse, stalking and harassment via the use of stalkerware,” said Craig Jones, INTERPOL’s Director of Cybercrime. “To this end, we will continue to raise awareness within the global law enforcement community about intimate partner violence and unwanted surveillance and abuse,” Mr Jones added. 

The founding members of the Coalition include Avira, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the European Network for the Work with Perpetrators of Domestic Violence, G DATA Cyber Defense, Kaspersky, Malwarebytes, the U.S. National Network to End Domestic Violence, NortonLifeLock, Operation Safe Escape, and WEISSER RING.

About Coalition Against StalkerwareThe Coalition Against Stalkerware (“CAS” or “Coalition”) is a group dedicated to addressing abuse, stalking, and harassment via the creation and use of stalkerware. Currently comprised of direct service and international victim service agencies, as well as information technology security firms, the Coalition looks to bring together a diverse array of organizations to actively address the criminal behavior perpetrated through stalkerware and raise public awareness about this important issue. Due to the high societal relevance for users all over the globe, with new variants of stalkerware emerging periodically, the Coalition Against Stalkerware is open to new partners and calls for cooperation. To find out more about the Coalition Against Stalkerware please visit the official website www.stopstalkerware.org