Social networking sites fuelling stalking, report warns

From The Guardian:

New forms of digital technology and social networking sites such as Facebook are increasingly putting people at risk of stalking, according to a report published on Wednesday.

The study, from Women's Aid and the Network for Surviving Stalking, warns that mobile phones, particularly smartphones, are increasingly being targeted. Spyware could be installed on the phone in "less than five minutes", allowing a stalker to listen remotely to the phone's surroundings, intercept calls, track text messages and the location of a device if it has GPS hardware.

Computer spyware could be installed remotely, via an email attachment, and then remain hidden on the computer, warned the report. "It's cheap, easy to use and very powerful," it said.