- Malicious apps are being disguised to gather data for China
- The Uighur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese communities are facing targeting.
- The apps appear to be related to religion and culture.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre, along with counterparts in Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, and the US, are cautioning that applications embedded with spyware are being utilized to target Uighur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese communities.
The spyware known as BADBAZAAR and MOONSHINE is presumably employed to collect data "that would be valuable to China" from people who might represent a potential threat to China’s safety.
A lot of the apps equipped with spyware are created to imitate religious or cultural software.
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Collecting location, sound, and image information
The applications in question encompass "Audio Quran," a spiritual tool aimed at engaging Uighur communities, and "TibetOne," which initially seems like an platform for sharing pictures, videos, music, and writings that highlight Tibetan culture.
There have been attempts to share the applications through legitimate channels such as the Google Play Store, but these attempts have largely been unsuccessful thanks to the security controls in place on the Play Store.
Consequently, the applications were distributed via forums popular among the targeted groups and depended on users manually installing the apps from .apks.
As per the NCSC report [ PDF The applications are not solely utilized for targeting individuals; they are also employed to surveil civil society organizations with the aim of tracking their activities.
The BADBAZAAR and MOONSHINE spyware could potentially gain access to real-time location and GPS data, stream live audio and video captures, retrieve files stored on the device, extract SMS messages and call logs, gather device information, and also play sounds through the device.
The joint statement states, "While BADBAZAAR and MOONSHINE have targeted Uighur, Tibetan, and Taiwanese individuals, various other malicious software also aim at different ethnic minorities within China. People from sealing communities inside China and those overseas, seen as backing movements that could destabilize the government, are likely facing threats from such mobile malwares." malware For example, BADBAZAAR and MOONSHINE.”
The ability to record location, audio, and photographic data likely offers chances to enhance potential surveillance and harassment activities through the provision of up-to-date details about the subject's actions.
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