Google says Apple, Android phones in Italy and Kazakhstan targeted with spyware

Apple and Android smartphones in Italy and Kazakhstan were hacked via an Italian company's hacking tool in order to spy on Alphabet's Google, a report by the tech giant stated on Thursday. The hacking company’s clients were found to be European law enforcement agencies, the Milan-based RCS Lab’s website claims. The tool was developed to spy on the chats of the contacts of the targeted devices, the report further revealed. The incident came to light as European and American regulators have been exploring new ways to keep the platforms safe and  inspect the use of spywares on the devices or the softwares. 

“These vendors are enabling the proliferation of dangerous hacking tools and arming governments that would not be able to develop these capabilities in-house,” Google said in a statement on Thursday. 

Google notified Android operating system

Milan-based RCS Lab meanwhile stated that its clients have argued that the product complied with European laws and regulations and helped the law enforcement agencies investigate crimes. The governments of Italy and Kazakhstan have made no official comments into the matter. "RCS Lab personnel are not exposed,” the firm reportedly claimed, adding that they did not in fact participate in any illegal activities that may have been conducted by the customers.

Google meanwhile in a preventive measure notified the Android operating system about the potential hacking tool installed across its devices. This is yet another shocking incident after Israeli surveillance firm NSO's Pegasus spyware was found to be insatlled on Apple and Android phones which the multiple governments used to spy on journalists, activists, and dissidents.

"This shows that even though these devices are ubiquitous, there's still a long way to go in securing them against these powerful attacks," Bill Marczak, a security researcher with digital watchdog Citizen Lab was quoted as saying in the report. The RCS Lab’s hacking tool in’t as stealthy as Pegasus but it can still be used to spy on the messages and view passwords. Google meanwhile says that it has taken measures to ensure that the customers are protected. According to Google, the hackers using RCS spyware may be targetting the customers’ internet service provider This also raises suspicion that the hacking tool may have been purchased by the government-backed actors.