{ "id": "f31ef052-7150-4bcc-9f14-fb1a60f03830", "created_at": "2026-04-06T00:16:24.267174Z", "updated_at": "2026-04-10T03:21:46.386417Z", "deleted_at": null, "sha1_hash": "a5f084cadc3c527989ed55ac0eec1cf5e69d67a6", "title": "Founder of spyware maker pcTattletale pleads guilty to hacking and advertising surveillance software", "llm_title": "", "authors": "", "file_creation_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_modification_date": "0001-01-01T00:00:00Z", "file_size": 1793935, "plain_text": "Founder of spyware maker pcTattletale pleads guilty to hacking\r\nand advertising surveillance software\r\nBy Zack Whittaker\r\nPublished: 2026-01-06 · Archived: 2026-04-05 21:15:23 UTC\r\nThe founder of a U.S.-based spyware company, whose surveillance products allowed customers to spy on the\r\nphones and computers of unsuspecting victims, pleaded guilty to federal charges linked to his long-running\r\noperation. \r\npcTattletale founder Bryan Fleming entered a guilty plea in a San Diego federal court on Tuesday to charges of\r\ncomputer hacking, the sale and advertising of surveillance software for unlawful uses, and conspiracy.\r\nThe plea follows a multi-year investigation by agents with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), a unit within\r\nU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HSI began investigating pcTattletale in mid-2021 as part of a wider\r\nprobe into the industry of consumer-grade surveillance software, also known as “stalkerware.”\r\nThis is the first successful U.S. federal prosecution of a stalkerware operator in more than a decade, following the\r\n2014 indictment and subsequent guilty plea of the creator of a phone surveillance app called StealthGenie.\r\nFleming’s conviction could pave the way for further federal investigations and prosecutions against those\r\noperating spyware, but also those who simply advertise and sell covert surveillance software.\r\nHSI said that pcTattletale is one of several stalkerware websites under investigation.\r\nA spokesperson for ICE did not immediately comment when contacted by TechCrunch. Kelly Thornton, a\r\nspokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, which brought the charges\r\nagainst Fleming, declined to comment.\r\nIn a statement provided to TechCrunch by his lawyer, Marcus Bourassa, Fleming claimed he “genuinely had no\r\nidea the product might violate any laws,” and that, “the moment I learned there was an issue, I shut everything\r\ndown and fully cooperated with investigators.”\r\nFleming did not respond to follow-up questions about his unlawful activity.\r\npcTattletale was a remote surveillance app that had been under Fleming’s control since at least 2016. Stalkerware\r\napps like pcTattletale allow ordinary consumers to buy software capable of tracking people and their data without\r\ntheir knowledge, including romantic partners and spouses, which is illegal in the United States and many other\r\ncountries.\r\nOnce physically planted on a person’s phone or computer (usually with knowledge of the victim’s passcode or\r\nlogin), the app would continuously upload a copy of the victim’s information, including messages, photos, and\r\nlocation data, to pcTattletale’s servers and make the data accessible to whoever planted the spyware.\r\nhttps://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software/\r\nPage 1 of 4\n\nFleming shut down pcTattletale in 2024 following a data breach, which saw a hacker deface the company’s\r\nwebsite and steal reams of data from its servers, including identifiable information belonging to its customers and\r\ntheir victims. More than 138,000 customers who had signed up to use pcTattletale had their breached information\r\nshared with data breach notification site Have I Been Pwned. \r\nAt the time, Fleming told TechCrunch that his company was “out of business and completely done,” after deleting\r\nthe contents of pcTattletale’s servers.   \r\nDespite the shutdown, federal agents were already far into their investigation of Fleming’s illegal spyware\r\nbusiness.\r\nFeds search founder’s $1.2M home\r\nHSI began investigating pcTattletale in June 2021 after finding over 100 stalkerware websites offering\r\nsurveillance products, many of which advertised lawful uses of the software, such as monitoring children or\r\nemployees.\r\npcTattletale stood out because it was specifically advertising its spyware for “surreptitiously spying on spouses\r\nand partners,” wrote HSI special agent Nick Jones in the 2022 affidavit in support of a search warrant for\r\nFleming’s home. The affidavit was unsealed in early December 2025 ahead of Fleming’s anticipated plea hearing. \r\nCrucially for investigators, Fleming was believed to be operating pcTattletale from his home in Bruce Township,\r\nMichigan, well within reach of U.S. law enforcement — unlike many overseas stalkerware operators who are not.\r\n \r\nUnlike some stalkerware operators who shield their identities to avoid legal and reputational risks from working\r\nwith spyware, Fleming was brazen in how he advertised pcTattletale. In videos posted on YouTube, Fleming could\r\nbe seen at his home promoting pcTattletale as its creator and founder. \r\nhttps://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software/\r\nPage 2 of 4\n\nA surveillance photo taken by HSI agents outside of Bryan Fleming’s home in MichiganImage\r\nCredits:Justice Department (affidavit)\r\nAccording to the affidavit, HSI obtained a warrant in 2022 allowing the search of Fleming’s email accounts. HSI\r\nsaid the emails showed that Fleming “knowingly assisted customers seeking to spy on nonconsenting, non-employee adults.” \r\nFederal agents later surveilled Fleming’s home to confirm it was in fact him.\r\nJones also went undercover to collect evidence, posing as an affiliate marketer under the guise of promoting the\r\nspyware in exchange for a cut of the proceeds. As a result of this operation, Jones exchanged emails with Fleming,\r\nin which the pcTattletale founder provided images intended for banner ads that promoted the spyware as a way to\r\n“catch a cheater,” which made it clear Fleming wanted to market his product for illegal purposes. \r\nBy November 2022, HSI had obtained permission from a U.S. judge to search Fleming’s home, which agents\r\nraided soon after, seizing an unknown number of items. Agents also obtained records associated with Fleming’s\r\nbank and his PayPal account, which had transactions totaling more than $600,000 as of the end of 2021. \r\nThe search warrant was filed under seal amid concerns that Fleming could destroy or tamper with evidence.\r\nFleming has since sold the house for $1.2 million, per public records.\r\nFleming’s conviction is a win for privacy advocates and campaigners who work to counter the proliferation of\r\nstalkerware and raise awareness to its dangers.\r\nEva Galperin, the director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the co-founder of the\r\nCoalition Against Stalkerware, who has investigated and fought stalkerware for years, commented on Fleming’s\r\nguilty plea when reached by TechCrunch.\r\nhttps://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software/\r\nPage 3 of 4\n\n“One of the most striking aspects of this case is the extent to which stalkware companies like pcTattletale operate\r\nout in the open,” said Galperin. “This is because the people behind these companies so rarely face consequences\r\nfor selling tools that they themselves say are explicitly for monitoring other people’s devices without their\r\nknowledge or consent.”\r\n“I hope that this case changes the risk calculus for makers of stalkerware,” said Galperin.\r\nFleming is expected to be sentenced later this year.\r\n——\r\nUpdated with comment from Fleming.\r\nIf you or someone you know needs help, the National Domestic Violence Hotline (1-800-799-7233) provides 24/7\r\nfree, confidential support to victims of domestic abuse and violence. If you are in an emergency situation, call 911.\r\nThe Coalition Against Stalkerwarehas resources if you think your phone has been compromised by spyware.\r\nSource: https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-softw\r\nare/\r\nhttps://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software/\r\nPage 4 of 4", "extraction_quality": 1, "language": "EN", "sources": [ "Malpedia" ], "references": [ "https://techcrunch.com/2026/01/06/founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software/" ], "report_names": [ "founder-of-spyware-maker-pctattletale-pleads-guilty-to-hacking-and-advertising-surveillance-software" ], "threat_actors": [], "ts_created_at": 1775434584, "ts_updated_at": 1775791306, "ts_creation_date": 0, "ts_modification_date": 0, "files": { "pdf": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a5f084cadc3c527989ed55ac0eec1cf5e69d67a6.pdf", "text": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a5f084cadc3c527989ed55ac0eec1cf5e69d67a6.txt", "img": "https://archive.orkl.eu/a5f084cadc3c527989ed55ac0eec1cf5e69d67a6.jpg" } }