Maria says she grew up in a good Catholic family in the eastern United States. Every Sunday there was a dinner party at his house. Her parents' married life was good and she wanted to see the same respect and closeness in their relationship.

When he was over 20 years old, he found his partner and it seemed like this is true love.

But the romance soon ended in his life and it turned into a story of 25 years of abuse and exploitation. At first they were called by bad names. Her husband then took complete control of her finances, movements, and three sons.

Her husband objected to a job where he had contact with other people. Their use of computers was banned.

They used to call me fat every day," she recalls. They would kick me out of the house in anger and lock the door.

Financial exploitation increased day by day. Earlier, his salary was taken away from his cleaning job. Her husband then used her social security number to get a credit card in her name.

Six years ago, Maria broke down when she heard that he did not want to see her alive. With the help of his family and church, he gradually made plans to get out of the marriage.

In case of non-payment, when her mortgage went home, she started living with her sister. He got a laptop for the first time and created a Facebook account. They started dating.

But soon her ex-husband started showing her private messages to her new partner. Her ex-husband would go wherever she went.

Once, on the motorway, he suddenly saw them in a car behind him. She feared she was being chased and that she might have a gun. Fearing this, he contacted the police.

Although she did not file a lawsuit against her ex-husband, the chase ended and she distanced herself from him.

During this time, they learned that they were being spied on by software. She was one of the victims of Stalker Wear.

Stalker software is software that allows a person to spy on someone's device (such as a mobile phone).

No Spy Apps On Your Phone?

With the help of such software one can access the messages, location, photos and files of another's phone. Can even hear conversations on the phone.

To address this issue, Eva Gulpern founded Coalition Against Stacker Wear in 2019.

According to reports, many alleged rape victims fear that their victims could re-enter their lives with the help of technology. With that in mind, Eva decided to take action against him.

She says that when someone has access to your phone, the chances of exploitation increase, for example, victims may be blackmailed into sharing their private photos.

According to Eva, all the cases of domestic violence that come to their notice are always harassed by some kind of technology and often involves sticker wear.

she said. It's all about violent cases because it's a powerful tool for gaining control.

Research shows that adding software like Stalker software is a big problem. According to a study by Norton Labs, between September 2020 and May 2021, the number of devices with Stalker Wear installed increased by 63%.

According to the report, the increase could be due to the effects of the lockdown when people were living in their homes longer.

According to the report, "personal belongings are always close to each other. This gives an offender a chance to install sticker software on their partner's device and exploit them with the help of technology.

Over the past two years, EVA has persuaded antivirus companies to take such malicious software more seriously. Thus Stackerware was added to the list of unwanted programs or malware.

In October, Google removed a number of ads that were selling its partners' spy software.

These apps are often sold saying that it is for parents who want to monitor their child's movements and messages. But some people start using them to spy on their partner.

One of these apps, Spy Phone, was banned by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in September for hacking into people's devices and stealing their personal data and their movements and activities. Provided information.

Despite these positive steps, some Stackerware apps and tips for using them are still readily available online.

According to Eva, FTC is now investigating the issue of buying and selling phone location data without the consent of consumers. She says such technology is a powerful tool for private spies to use to gain access to their target location.

Stackerware is made to be difficult to detect, so even people with knowledge of technology fall prey to it.

One victim, Charlotte (pseudonym), is herself a senior cybersecurity analyst.

Shortly after their engagement, she realized that strange things were happening with her phone. The battery would run out very quickly and the phone would suddenly restart. Both of these signs indicate that the phone may have Stacker software installed.

It became clear when his partner told him that he always knew where he was. Charlotte finally unveiled the secret.

She went to a hacker event to get expert opinion. His partners were also in the industry and they knew some faces.

She was surprised to learn that the tradition of tracking her partner is acceptable to many.

In this context, she entered the field of cyber security so that other views could be represented in the industry.

Take a look at the internet and you will find many services which claim that you can hack someone's smartphone only with the help of their phone number. A few hundred US dollars in cryptocurrency is usually demanded in return.

It is possible that law enforcement agencies have software with this capability, but cybersecurity experts say these websites could be fraudulent.

According to Charlotte, Stalker Wear apps are based on "social engineering" that people can understand and avoid. For example, a text message should be sent to the target people in which the existing link can be clicked or if someone downloads a fake app that can be shared with them.

"Don't be afraid if you try to delete a suspicious app and it warns you," says Charlotte.

"Sometimes they use intimidation techniques to prevent users from deleting the software. They use a variety of social engineering techniques.

If all else fails, Charlotte recommends that you factory reset your phone, change the passwords for all social media accounts, and use two-factor authentication at all times.

So what could be the best way to solve this problem?

Most countries have laws against spying.

In France, for example, a new law against domestic violence was introduced in 2020, which provides for one year in prison and a fine of 45,000 euros for espionage and location tracking without permission. If your partner is involved in this process, the penalty will be doubled.

According to Eva, new legislation will not solve all the problems.

For example, according to him, Google and Apple can stop buying and selling such apps on their stores.

He added that the police should also be better trained so that they take such issues more seriously.

Another major problem is that when victims go to law enforcement, they expect the law to be enforced. But they start the investigation and are told that there is no problem.

With the rise of cyber espionage, new facilities are being introduced for victims of domestic violence.

Clinic Two and Take Abuse, or CITA, is an organization affiliated with Cornell University in the United States that helps victims and conducts research into the misuse of technology.

Rosina Blaini, who is affiliated with SITA, says that sometimes they do not immediately suggest removing the sticker software from the victim's phone, but rather they provide safety training to the victim with the help of the first staff.

Experiments have shown that if the victims are suddenly deleted from their phones, the incidence of violence may increase.

It has been six years since Maria separated from her husband. Conditions are not good, but they are moving in the right direction.

"Now I have a good relationship with someone who cares about me and supports me so I can tell my story," she says.

She is still upset with her phone. They were diagnosed with PTSD or trauma. She wants to tell other victims that cyber espionage is a big thing and she is not alone in this journey.

"Don't be afraid. There is help for you. I have improved a lot. At 56, if I can do it, anyone can do it. "