Benjamin Carr, Ph.D. 👨🏻💻🧬<p>Governments identify dozens of <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Android" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Android</span></a> <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/apps" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>apps</span></a> bundled with <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/spyware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>spyware</span></a><br><a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/BadBazaar" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>BadBazaar</span></a> and <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Moonshine" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Moonshine</span></a>, which have been previously analyzed by cybersecurity firms and digital rights nonprofit <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/CitizenLab" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>CitizenLab</span></a>, were used to target <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Uyghurs" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Uyghurs</span></a>, <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Tibetans" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Tibetans</span></a>, and <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/Taiwanese" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Taiwanese</span></a> communities. These two spywares hid inside legitimate-looking apps, acting essentially as “trojan” <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/malware" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>malware</span></a>, with <a href="https://hachyderm.io/tags/surveillance" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>surveillance</span></a> capabilities such as access the phone’s cameras, microphone, chats, photos, and location data.<br><a href="https://techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/governments-identify-dozens-of-android-apps-bundled-with-spyware/" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://</span><span class="ellipsis">techcrunch.com/2025/04/09/gove</span><span class="invisible">rnments-identify-dozens-of-android-apps-bundled-with-spyware/</span></a></p>