Cybersecurity researchers have said they have found evidence of Chinese spyware in Uyghur-language apps that can track the location and access data of Uyghurs living in China and abroad.
According to the news agency AFP, a recent report of the United Nations has said that Beijing has committed crimes against humanity in Xinjiang, a region of the Uyghur minority.
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Lawmakers in the US and other Western countries say China's treatment of Uighurs amounts to genocide.
Since 2018, several Uighur-language Android apps have been found to be infected with two types of spyware linked to Chinese state-backed hacker groups, a report Thursday from San Francisco-based cybersecurity firm Lookout claimed. are
These apps include dictionaries, religious apps, maps and even pirated versions available on third-party stores or shared on Uyghur-language channels on Telegram.
These apps are not available on the official Google Play Store because it is blocked in China. This is why Chinese users use third-party app stores.
The spyware enabled hackers to collect sensitive data including user location, contacts, call logs, text messages and files, and could also take photos and record calls, the report said. .
The apps could have been used to detect evidence of religious extremism or separatism, the researchers said.
Uyghurs were imprisoned for decades as part of a major counter-terrorism crackdown in Xinjiang. Observers say it is a massive detention campaign.
A large population of the Uyghur race also lives in the countries of Central Asia and Turkey.
"This campaign appears to primarily target Uyghurs in China," the report said. However, there has also been evidence of widespread targeting of Muslims and Uighurs using these apps outside of Xinjiang.
According to the report, hackers from China have also targeted citizens of countries like Turkey and Afghanistan through spyware in maps apps.
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