Spy software for phones alarms police

Tauranga police are concerned new spy software allowing parents to monitor their children's cellphone calls is open to abuse by controlling and abusive partners.
The software has gone on sale in New Zealand to allow parents to monitor their children's text messages and cellphone calls.
The technology even has a GPS tracking device so parents know exactly where their children are - all for a cost of $44.
But Women's Refuge and civil liberties groups are horrified about what it might mean if the technology was abused.
Detective Sergeant Jason Perry, the Western Bay family violence co-ordinator, said the spyware could be abused.
"This technology has probably been launched with the best of intentions of making sure kids are kept safe, and 90 per cent of people will probably use it for the right purposes," he said.
"But there are going to be some people who will take the chance to use it as another means of controlling their partner, and in a family violence sense use to restrict and control their partner's movements and who they have contact with, and will become just another type of control."
Mr Perry said there were other ways in which parents could monitor their children's activities.
"The best way of keeping kids safe is to become their friend on Facebook, and to have some agreed rules around their laptop and cellphone use."
Sally Rae and Steve Herstell, who launched the software in New Zealand yesterday, said the application was aimed at helping parents prevent their children becoming victims of bullying, sexting and grooming.
"You need to train a child to use a cellphone, and this is a way of doing that," Ms Rae said.
She and Mr Herstell have the NZ franchise for MyFone and have now launched it, citing concerns about bad cyberspace behaviour.
"You can actually watch all telephone calls in and out, you can black-list some numbers if you want to," Ms Rae said. "You can see all texts in and out and the content of the texts. You can also GPS-track them."
MyFone software is bought online and downloaded to a handset, which is then connected to the mobile number to be monitored. The technology sends a text to the number asking for permission, which the person has an option of allowing.
Women's Refuge acting chief executive Lynn Boyd said the spyware was extremely concerning: "It could mean that an abusive partner could monitor their partner's calls to emergency services, help services or family members whom they turn to in their time of need."
Mrs Boyd said it was not far-fetched to think crazed people would abuse the software and use it to spy on partners and control their movements.
Mr Herstell said the software could be put on a phone and go unnoticed for a month, which was a loophole in the technology the company was working to close.
New Zealand Council for Civil Liberties spokesman Batch Hales said he was perturbed.
"A lot of parents are very controlling with their children. The presumption was you would have an enlightened parent wanting to care for their kid, but the reality is it's snooping on everything they do."
Mr Hales said if a parent was concerned about how a child used a phone, not to give them one.
"This is a controlling mechanism ... and we'll be looking into the legalities and ethical issues around it," he said.
NetSafe said as long as the product was used along with open communication between parent and child, it did not have an issue with it.