Viet Hong Company, which is based in Hanoi's Thanh Xuan district, was charged with illegally using information on computer, telecommunications and internet networks under Article 266 of the Criminal Code.
The Hanoi People's Procuracy also prosecuted and detained four defendants connected to the crimes.
Earlier, the Hanoi Police Department's hi-tech crimes division (PC50) co-ordinated with the Inspectorate of the Department of Information and Communications to inspect the operations of Viet Hong Company.
They discovered that the company had created and sold its Ptracker software, which helped users track other people's Android phones, read their SMS messages and contact books, and record their phone calls.
When the app is installed on target cell phones, it provides access to messages, contacts, and voice messages. The stolen information was archived on Viet Hong's servers and was accessed by using a paid account to log in to the company's website.
The app can even remotely turn on the target devices’ camera, 3G or GPRS connections from the tracker phone.
Inspectors determined that 14,140 cell phones had been spied on, and that the company had earned illicit profits of VND 900 million (US$42,300).
The case is under investigation.
