The United States Justice department has indicted Hammad Akbar, the chief executive officer of InvoCode, in what officials said is the first criminal case in history that involves the advertisement and sale of a mobile device spyware app.

The authorities have charged Akbar with advertisement of a known interception device, advertising a device as a surreptitious interception device, the sale of a surreptitious interception device and conspiracy.

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The app's business plan was focused on the "spousal cheat" market, which was anticipated to comprise 65 percent of the buyers of StealthGenie, according to the government. If the number is true, the individuals who invented the app offered the perfect program as it was said to be unnoticeable and was able to secretly intercept all transmissions once installed on a device.

Akbar was taken into custody over the weekend in Los Angeles, Calif.

The people who purchased the app were able to look over any intercepted communications on an online portal, located at subdomain cp.stealthgenie.com, according to the government. A temporary restraining order has since been issued by a federal judge that authorizes the Federal Bureau of Investigation to disable the website hosting the app temporarily.

"Selling spyware is not just reprehensible, it's a crime," said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell of the Justice Department's Criminal Division in a statement. "Apps like StealthGenie are expressly designed for use by stalkers and domestic abusers who want to know every detail of a victim's personal life--all without the victim's knowledge."

Meanwhile, the FBI's director, James Comey, is also concerned about information on Apple and Google's software platforms, but for a different reason.

While the security of the user has been the priority of the new developments, the smartphone makers have generated algorithms which are so secure that authorities would not be able to gain access to the information stored on the devices, even if they have legitimate search warrants.

"There will come a day when it will matter a great deal to the lives of people ... that we will be able to gain access" to such devices, Comey told reporters in a briefing. "I want to have that conversation [with companies responsible] before that day comes."

TagsPrivacy, Right to Privacy, Hammad Akbar, StealthGenie, cheating, cheating scandal, Data collection, Data, information gathering, FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation, James Comey