Malwarebytes reported a 147% rise in spyware incidents during the first half of 2025, with SMS-based malware being one of the most egregious culprits, showing a staggering increase of 692% from April to May.
Spyware remains highly favored among cybercriminals due to its simplicity in execution through phishing schemes. The hacker merely needs to send a deceptive message persuading the user to install the malware or navigate to a phishing site.
With the malware installed, the attacker gains unrestricted access to confidential information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, and additional data. The silver lining is that spyware can be eliminated by following a few straightforward steps.
