Spyware targets Uyghurs ‘masquerading’ as Android apps – report

Cybersecurity researchers have discovered a spyware campaign going on against Uyghurs by “masquerading” as Android apps. The spyware is allegedly using messaging services, prayer time apps and dictionaries also to spy on the activities of Uyghur Muslims in the region.

Researchers say that the spyware is connected to a Chinese government-backed hacking group, which can be used to track people who use services that may be considered a “pre-crime” or are seen by China as indications that someone is engaging in or will engage in religious extremist or separatist activities. “Pre-crime” activities include using a virtual private network (VPN) or sharing any kind of religious content which can lead to being detained in a re-education camp.

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According to the report, the surveillance campaign primarily targets Uyghurs in China, but there is also evidence that those behind the campaign were also looking to target Uyghurs in Muslim-majority countries like Afghanistan and Turkey. Turkey is home to the largest Uyghur diaspora outside of Central Asia with an estimated 50,000 Uyghurs living there.

The Android apps 'masquerading'existing services are typically found on unofficial app stores because Google Play is blocked in China, according to the report, and also spread through messaging services including Telegram.

Researchers have alsotold that many of the apps with this spyware collect various type of device data like location, contacts, call logs, wifi information, and can also record phone calls and take pictures. The researchers also found that newer iterations of Moonshine, an Android exploit first discovered in 2019 by the University of Toronto’s research group Citizen Lab, implement spyware in popular apps including WhatsApp and Telegram as well as “versions of Muslim cultural apps, Uyghur-language tools, or prayer apps”.

China’s mass surveillance system and its targeting of Uyghurs have been well-documented in the past few years. Several Chinese surveillance and camera companies have been placed on the US entity list for complicity in human rights violations. Some of these firms have filed for patents for, developed or planned to develop features that would allow them to detect or set up alerts when someone who is Uyghur is detected. The UN has also found that China is responsible for “serious human rights violations” against Uyghurs in Xinjiang.

(With input from agencies)

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