Researchers Uncover Chinese Spyware Used To Target Android Devices

Security researchers have uncovered a new surveillance tool that they say has been used by Chinese law enforcement to collect sensitive information from Android devices in China. From a report: The tool, named 'EagleMsgSpy,' was discovered by researchers at U.S. cybersecurity firm Lookout. The company said at the Black Hat Europe conference on Wednesday that it had acquired several variants of the spyware, which it says has been operational since 'at least 2017.'

Kristina Balaam, a senior intelligence researcher at Lookout, told TechCrunch the spyware has been used by 'many' public security bureaus in mainland China to collect 'extensive' information from mobile devices. This includes call logs, contacts, GPS coordinates, bookmarks, and messages from third-party apps including Telegram and WhatsApp. EagleMsgSpy is also capable of initiating screen recordings on smartphones, and can capture audio recordings of the device while in use, according to research Lookout shared with TechCrunch.

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.'

Read more of this story at Slashdot.