What Is Spyware? Definition, Types, and Prevention

For your eyes only! 👀 🕵️‍♀️ Think your devices are secure? Think again. Behind the scenes, spyware can silently infiltrate your system, monitoring your activity, collecting sensitive information, and transmitting it to third parties — all without your knowledge.

It’s a growing threat in today’s digital world, and it doesn’t always announce itself with flashy pop-ups or obvious slowdowns.

In this article, we will learn how spyware operates, what it looks like in its many forms, and how you can stay one step ahead.

What is spyware?

Spyware is any software that is secretively installed on a machine, monitors user behavior, and transmits this information to a malicious third-party entity. Spyware differs from computer viruses:

• A virus installed directly into machines can perform an unauthorized transaction process, such as modifying or leaking certain data.
• Spyware, on the other hand, harvests user behavior information without the approval or knowledge of the victim.

Spyware is different from the monitoring tools installed by a business organization to monitor user performance on the machine and track user activity for auditing purposes. Adware, keyloggers, and Trojan Horses are some examples of spyware programs.

Let’s get some intel on spyware. (It isn’t all as it seems...)

Why spyware is used

At best, spyware programs consume internet bandwidth and computing resources on the installed machines. These applications may be designed to:

• Deliver targeted advertisements.
• Serve as browser helper objects.
• Redirect users to desired web pages.

At worst, a spyware application is a critical security threat that aims to access sensitive user information including login credentials and paths to sensitive data assets.

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Spyware types & threat potential

Let’s review the different classes of spyware and understand how to protect your privacy against a spyware attack:

Cookies and email tracking

These are a form of passive spyware models that do not require installation (running code) into your machines but use the existing tracking functionality of your web browsers. Cookies store the state of a browser session that is retrieved from a backend server. Since multiple websites are cached and delivered from the same data center and search engine providers, these websites can retrieve user information from these cookies and serve targeted ads.

Similarly, an email may contain HTML code that points to a remote server. The code can contain a unique identifier associated with the user — in the form of a URL link to an image, for example. Websites can use this identifier to validate and send personalized advertisements to the associated email account.

Adware

Adware typically installs on the host machine bundled with other software. Users grant permission as part of the End User License Agreement (EULA), marketing it as part of the sold software suite.

In reality, these applications specifically track user behavior and transfer this information to unauthorized third parties. In other cases, attackers use social engineering exploits and phishing attacks to install adware on a host machine. Adware commonly serves:

• Pop-up ads.
• Website redirection.
• In some cases, denial-of-service attacks.

Trojan spyware

These are the active spyware applications installed as a Remote Administration Trojan (RAT) as a packaged product that users would unknowingly accept when downloading a peer-to-peer sharing file. The key difference from an adware installation is that the victim remains unaware of the Trojan installation, since no EULA agreement or fine print specifies its existence.

Trojans serve no legitimate functionality for the user and exploit vulnerabilities in the operating system and web browsers to extract user information and serve ads, redirect websites and transfer sensitive user information to malicious third parties.

Keyloggers

Keystroke loggers can serve the legitimate business purpose of tracking employee behavior on a company laptop, especially when remote work is involved. The surveillance technology may be installed on all company devices including smartphones to:

• Track possible unauthorized activities.
• Audit requirements.
• Generate post-incident forensics reports.

In other cases, malicious third parties may install keyloggers to steal login credentials and keystroke behavior of the victim. Keylogger tools capture the length, sequence, velocity, and time of the keys used by a user. Combined with hijacked network traffic, hackers can map the keystrokes to the login credentials for different websites and login portals.

Browser hijackers

This spyware socially engineer’s user behavior to unknowingly change browser settings that enable third parties to change default search results and redirect websites to deliver additional advertisements. Attackers may manipulate a user to press a simple OK or Allow button, which changes the default browser settings, pushes notifications, tracks user location, or changes the search engine.

Another form of browser hijacking system was the Browser Helper Object (BHO) supported by Internet Explorer. Infected BHO were used as keyloggers that captured search strings and login credentials as well as affected browser performance causing slowdown and crashes.

Mobile spyware

Spyware nowadays increasingly targets mobile devices because of their extensive usage for financial and personal transactions. Phishing links, malicious apps, or drive-by downloads can increase the risk of mobile spyware. Once they infect a mobile device, mobile spyware does the following damage:

• Location data theft by GPS tracking.
• Unauthorized access to call logs, contacts, and messages.
• Real time illegal surveillance by camera and microphone activation.

Regularly running security testing of your mobile applications to reduce the risk of mobile spyware.

System monitors

These kinds of spyware record different user activities on a device such as keystrokes, application usage, or network traffic. Hackers with ill intent use these spyware programs by disguising them as legitimate software for employee monitoring or parental control. Systems infected with these spywares face the risk of:

• Possible data leaks or blackmail.
• Continuous user activity surveillance.
• Unauthorized collection of personal information or passwords.

Protecting against spyware

To protect your systems against spyware applications, the following best practices can help:

• Use anti-spyware tools. Reputable anti-malware software can help you to detect and eliminate spyware.
• Download carefully. Strictly avoid downloading attachments or software from unverified sources.
• Update your software. Install software updates or patches to prevent security vulnerabilities that a spyware can exploit.
• Use multi-factor authentication. As discussed previously, MFA can help mitigate keylogger attacks.
• Check network traffic. Use advanced networking monitoring tools that can detect anomalies.
• Review app permissions and browser extensions. Delete unwanted add-ons and restrict your employees from using apps that require too much access.
• Look for spyware symptoms. Do you experience a sharp increase in ad delivery following a software installation or browsing session?
• Read the fine print. At least carefully look at the software components during the installation process: Do you see a browser plugin or additional tool that you did not sign up for?
• Look out for website redirects, pop-ups, and banner ads. Do you see too many ads and website redirections?

If the answer to these questions is yes, it’s possible that your recent web browsing, software installation, or email attachment download may have packaged and installed spyware tools on your machine.

History of spyware

As we know, spyware is a kind of malicious software aimed to gather information from a system without the knowledge of the user. Its roots trace back to the early days of the internet. The term was first coined in 1995, and it became a "thing to worry about" in the late 1990s.

Rise of spyware in the late 1990s

With the rapid increase in the count of internet and PC users, early spyware programs started to emerge in the late 1990s. Programs like "Radiate/Aureate" came along with free software. These programs secretly collected data from users to deliver targeted advertisements.

Spyware's surge in the early 2000s

A major surge in spyware activity began in the early 2000s, when more malicious and sophisticated variants started to appear. Programs like "CoolWebSearch" and "Gator" started tracking user behavior, hijacked web browsers, and displayed unwanted advertisements. To counter such programs, tools like Spybot came into the market to remove or detect unwanted spyware.

Spyware's evolution

As spyware evolves, it becomes more insidious, embedding itself deeper inside operating systems to evade detection. Modern spyware can steal passwords, financial data, and other sensitive information.

In response, security experts and software companies intensify their efforts to combat these threats. They create advanced anti-spyware tools and push for privacy protection legislation. The ongoing battle between cybersecurity experts and spyware developers continues to reshape the landscape of internet security.

Let's discuss the steps taken by the industry in the following section.

Steps taken by the industry to counter spyware

The cybersecurity industry has taken several steps to protect user privacy in response to the emerging threat of spyware. These steps include:

• Anti-spyware tools: Companies are developing advanced tools to prevent, detect, and eliminate spyware.
• Educating users: Campaigns are launched that educate users about safe browsing practices, risk of spyware and ways to detect social engineering tactics, and phishing attempts.
• Enhancing security: Web browsers and operating systems now have sandboxing, real-time protection, and other built-in security features to prevent spyware installation.
• Laws and regulations: Worldwide, governments now aim at protecting user privacy and have strict laws to penalize the creation and spreading of spyware. GDPR and similar other regulations are there in different countries which companies must abide by.
• Collaboration: Software companies, law enforcement agencies, and security firms are working together to share intelligence regarding threats. The goal is to develop security strategies and create defensive mechanisms against spyware networks.
• Regular patches: Cybersecurity teams and software companies are regularly releasing software updates or patches to fix weak points which spyware can exploit.

The efforts discussed above are evolving regularly as the nature of threat changes, to provide a robust protective strategy against spyware.

Let's discuss the legal frameworks that govern the use of spyware to protect user privacy.

Legal frameworks governing the use of spyware

Worldwide, there are several legal frameworks that aim at protecting user privacy and penalize malicious activities. For example:

• CFAA: Computer Fraud and Abuse Act is implemented in the United States. This regulation criminalizes the distribution of spyware and other malicious software, along with unauthorized access to systems.
• GDPR: In the European Union, the General Data Protection Regulation penalizes the collection and processing of unauthorized data.
• CCPA: The California Consumer Privacy Act addresses data collection practices. It also enhances consumer protection and privacy rights for California residents.
• ECPA: The Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, implemented in the United States, protects users against unauthorized interception of email and other electronic communications.
• PDPA: In countries like Singapore, the Personal Data Protection Act regulates the collection and use of personal data. This law has measures against unauthorized collection of data using spyware.
• Data Protection Act: In the UK, this law works along with GDPR, including countermeasures against spyware and providing a framework for data protection.
• Privacy Act: In Australia, this act controls the handling of personal data by private organizations and government agencies, protecting against unauthorized data collection using spyware.

Defense against spyware: the road ahead

With evolving technologies, spyware continues to evolve. They pose a notable threat to security and user privacy.

From passive trackers like cookies to aggressive keyloggers or trojans, spyware can compromise system integrity and sensitive data. You must stay vigilant by following the best security practices, keeping your software updated, and using anti-spyware tools.