London [UK], April 9 : The National Cyber Security Centre of the UK and various international organizations focused on cybersecurity and intelligence announced on Wednesday that hackers are using two types of previously recognized spyware to monitor Uyghur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese individuals as well as civil society groups, per a report from the Central Tibet Administration (CTA).
The malicious software known as MOONSHINE and BADBAZAAR can infiltrate the microphones and cameras of devices, collecting messages, photos, and location data, which permits users to be surveilled in real time without their awareness, according to the CTA report.
Spyware-infected applications are being leveraged to target individuals and groups worldwide associated with activities deemed a threat to China's stability by the state, according to a press release from the NCSC highlighted.
Those believed to be at the highest risk of being targeted include individuals connected to Taiwan's independence movement, organizations advocating for Tibetan rights, and Uyghur Muslims. Additionally, ethnic minorities from or within China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, democracy advocates, and members of the Falun Gong are also thought to be in danger, as noted in the CTA report.
Certain applications imitate well-known platforms such as WhatsApp and Skype, while others are established as standalone applications to draw interest from potential victims within the targeted communities. Two independent applications, Tibet One and Audio Quran, are accessible in users' native languages and promoted in online spaces frequented by members of those communities.
For instance, hackers promoted the Tibet One app in Telegram groups focused on the region and in relevant threads on Reddit, as stated by the NCSC. Tibet One is an iOS application that was added to the Apple App Store in December 2021 but has since been taken down. The NCSC reported that "malicious actors" designed the app as a means to infect users' devices with BADBAZAAR spyware, as noted in the CTA report.
The Audio Quran app employs MOONSHINE spyware to surveil Uyghurs, according to the NCSC, building trust by incorporating the Uyghur language in its file name and presenting itself as containing content related to the Quran, Islam's primary religious text.
Taiwan has never been controlled by China; however, Beijing has explicitly stated its desire to unify the island with the mainland and is contemplating military action to achieve this. The Uyghurs are a Muslim minority within China. Reports indicate that the Chinese government has detained over a million Uyghurs in reeducation camps for almost ten years, according to the CTA.
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