Facebook "Chinese Hackers Implant Malware for Uyghur Surveillance"

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Facebook discovered and blocked a Chinese hacker group that implanted malware to surveil Uyghur activists and dissidents living abroad, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 24th (local time).

On the same day, Facebook announced that a hacking group known as 'Earth Empusa' or 'Evil Eye' targeted Uyghur activists, journalists, and dissidents on Facebook.

Facebook stated that the spy activities involved fewer than 500 people worldwide but did not disclose how many individuals were hacked.

The victims were mainly dissidents and journalists from Xinjiang residing in countries such as the United States, Turkey, Canada, Australia, and Kazakhstan.

The group created fake Facebook accounts pretending to be journalists, human rights activists, or members of the Uyghur community, gained trust by interacting with Uyghurs, and then implanted surveillance software on their devices.

The spy activities discovered by Facebook included not only monitoring phone usage but also activating the device's camera and microphone, among other functions.

Facebook's cybersecurity investigation team stated that it is unclear whether the Chinese government is behind these activities.

Meanwhile, Western countries including the United States claim that China has detained at least one million Uyghurs, a minority group in the Xinjiang region, and is committing genocide. China denies this, stating that it is only operating re-education camps for vocational training.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.