Days before Simon Gittany threw his partner Lisa Harnum to her death from the balcony of their 15th-floor Sydney apartment in 2011, he had been reading her text messages using spyware. Unlike family locator apps, which allow parents to check where their children are, “stalkerware” promises the chance to secretly look inside another person’s device – and even record their surroundings.
in Australia today, spyware vendors can sell products designed for customers to surveil a target without their consent, despite alarm among domestic violence and security experts. While police say the use of spyware may be criminal, a series of private investigation businesses are promoting the software, sometimes to jealous spouses. They promise services such as viewing call logs and “real-time tracking of their whereabouts”, enabling surveillance “until you have the evidence you need to come forward”. In some cases, the promise is as blunt as: “Do you want to spy on your husband, wife, partner?” One site sells the software for $130 a month. Stalking, coercive control and obsessive behaviour have been identified as “pathways to homicide”, and Bridget Harris, director of the Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre, says the use of spyware displays all three. Criminologists, support workers and other private investigators, who say the danger is extremely high for domestic violence victims, are now calling for action to stop spyware vendors. “There’s no legitimate reason that that technology should exist,” Harris says. Source: https://www.smh.com.au/national/keep-a-close-eye-on-your-partner-the-industry-selling-spyware-to-jealous-spouses-20240314-p5fcjv.html? |