Kaspersky is one of the co-founders of the Coalition Against Stalkerware, an international group dedicated to tackling and combatting domestic violence linked to digital stalking and related abuses of technology. Although the data gathered by Kaspersky is anonymized, other research has shown that this form of digital violence affects mainly women. It is important to remember that digital violence is another dimension of violence, and needs to be understood as a continuum of offline violence with real and negative effects on the victims.

According to the firm’s Senior External Relations Manager, Christina Jankowski: “Aside from raising awareness, sharing our expertise, and working with partners, Kaspersky has now updated its Privacy Alert to users if stalkerware is found on their devices, so that they will now be made aware that a perpetrator will notice if the software is removed. The reason behind this is simple: if the software is deleted it erases proof that stalkerware has been installed, and if a perpetrator loses control over a device, the situation might escalate. Our mission is to ensure that victims understand the best course of action to deliver the safest possible outcome, and reverse the trend against this form of digital violence.”