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The founder of the spyware app pcTattletale announced that his company is permanently shutting down following a recent security breach.
\The closure comes shortly after a hacker hacked into the spyware maker's website and exposed large amounts of data from pcTattletale's servers, including customer databases and stolen victim data.
\pcTattletale was a remote surveillance app, often referred to as \"stalkerware,\" that allowed users to secretly monitor Android or Windows devices remotely, enabling them to view screenshots and private data from anywhere in the world. The app was marketed as a tool for monitoring employees but was also used to spy on spouses and partners without their consent, which is illegal.
\At the time of the breach, pcTattletale had 138,000 customers using the service, according to Have I Been Pwned.
\The hacker claimed on the compromised website that they could obtain private keys for pcTattletale's Amazon Web Services account, where hundreds of millions of device screenshots were stored. pcTattletale's website is currently offline.
\The founder, Bryan Fleming, stated that he no longer has access to the AWS account and has deleted all data to protect customer privacy. He confirmed that the servers have been shut down and the account closed.
\An analysis of the exposed data revealed that pcTattletale stored over 300 million screenshots from monitored devices on its Amazon S3 server. The server now displays an error code indicating that access has been disabled.
\Fleming did not disclose whether AWS took action against the company, and he did not clarify why the data was deleted without notifying those affected. Other spyware apps have faced similar breaches in the past, resulting in shutdowns and investigations by regulatory authorities.
\When questioned about pcTattletale, the FTC declined to comment on any ongoing investigations. Several other spyware makers have ceased operations following security incidents, such as LetMeSpy, PhoneSpector, and Highster.
