Spyware embedded in various Android apps keeping vigil on Uyghurs, their activities: Report

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

Researchers say that the spyware is connected to a Chinese government-backed hacking groupand can be used to track people and activities deemed “pre-crime” and see if someone is engaging in or is likely to 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.

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 'masquerading' Android apps 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 also said that many apps with spyware collect various types of device data like location, contacts, call logs, and wi-fi information, 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.

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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