News Summary

• Catwatchful was an Android-specific spyware that presented itself as a child-monitoring app “undetectable” to the user.
• Catwatchful relied on Firebase to host and store vast amounts of data stolen from thousands of phones compromised by its spyware.
• Google would not say why it took a month to investigate and suspend the operation’s Firebase account.
• As a for-profit company, Google has a commercial interest in retaining customers who pay for its services.