A Malware Called ZooPark Can Now Track All Of Your Phone Activities

• Kaspersky Lab has identified malware called "ZooPark".
• This malware has evolved over the last four years.
• A lot of these spying tools came from the US government. 

A malware called "ZooPark" which was initially spotted by Kaspersky Lab can now spy on almost any Android device, but also steal its data like call logs, messages, and any other information stored on the device itself. ZooPark targets mostly users from the Middle East. According to Alexey Firsh, a cyber threat researcher from the Kaspersky Lab, a lot of different clues imply that targets are being specifically selected and that there are some indications of these attacks being backed by some of the countries in the Middle East. Could this be just another way these governments are trying to spy on their opposition?

Image Courtesy Of: SecureList

It's been four years since this particular malware was discovered and then evolved into such a powerful spying tool. At first, it could only read the device's contacts list and some of the user's information. Today, this malware can steal your photos, browser history, instant messages from WhatsApp, Messenger and even Telegram. ZooPark can also capture photos, record video and audio files and take screenshots of your device. As Engadget reports, Kaspersky is suggesting that it is very likely that ZooPark wasn't created from scratch by one person but instead bought from different vendors of surveillance tools and then upgraded to its current state.

Image Courtesy Of: SecureList

There are a lot of places online where someone could acquire this kind of software. As we know today, many of these spying tools came from the US government. For example, "Shadow Brokers" is the name of a group of hackers which became famous after stealing a lot of spying software from the NSA. Most of them eventually ended up on the black market where criminals would buy them and upgrade them to suit their needs.