Tech
U.S. cybersecurity firm discovers Chinese spyware used to target Android devices
Researchers at U.S. cybersecurity firm Lookout have discovered a Chinese spyware named ‘‘EagleMsgSpy’’ that is used to target and collect sensitive data from Android devices.
On Wednesday, the company announced at the Black Hat Europe conference that it had obtained multiple versions of the spyware, which it claims has been in use since “at least 2017.”
“Many” public security organizations in mainland China have utilized the spyware to gather “extensive” data from mobile devices, according to Kristina Balaam, a senior intelligence researcher at Lookout.
READ ALSO: Google accuses Russia of using exploits linked to spyware makers
According to Balaam, third-party apps like Telegram and WhatsApp are used to gather private information, including call logs, contacts, GPS coordinates, bookmarks, and messages.
A manual obtained by Lookout describes the app as a “comprehensive mobile phone judicial monitoring product” that can obtain “real-time mobile phone information of suspects through network control without the suspect’s knowledge, monitor all mobile phone activities of criminals, and summarize them.”
Balaam said that thanks to infrastructure overlap, she assesses with “high confidence” that EagleMsgSpy has been developed by a private Chinese technology company called Wuhan Chinasoft Token Information Technology. The tool’s infrastructure also reveals the developer’s links to public security bureaus—government offices that essentially act as local police stations—in mainland China,’’ she said.
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