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CHINESE COPS CAUGHT USING ANDROID SPYWARE TO TRACK MOBILE DEVICESCHINESE COPS
CAUGHT USING ANDROID SPYWARE TO TRACK MOBILE DEVICES

Law enforcement across mainland China have been using EagleMsgSpy surveillance
tool to collect mobile device data since at least 2017, new research shows.

Becky Bracken, Senior Editor, Dark Reading

December 12, 2024

1 Min Read
Source: Vicky Barlow via Alamy Stock Photo


NEWS BRIEF

A surveillance tool named EagleMeSpy, developed by a Chinese software company
for legal use by the country's public security bureaus, has been scraping the
most sensitive data from targeted Android devices since at least 2017.

Researchers at Lookout warn that the EagleMeSpy spyware has been under constant
development, and while at the moment they have only seen evidence of an Android
version, analysis of the tool's infrastructure indicates a potential Apple iOS
version is out there somewhere as well.

Unlike other commercial spyware products, EagleMeSpy requires physical access to
the targeted device to deploy the tool, the Lookout team found. The researchers
reported they found no evidence of the spyware in Google Play or any other app
stores, leading them to conclude Chinese law enforcement officials are the only
ones initiating the surveillance software infection.

"An installer component, which would presumably be operated by law enforcement
officers who gained access to the unlocked device, is responsible for delivering
a headless surveillance module that remains on the device and collects extensive
sensitive data," the Lookout report read.

Once installed, EagleMsgSpy gathers everything it can, including chat and text
messages, screen and audio recordings, call logs, contacts, location data, and
network activity, Lookout said. Additional evidence shows the vendor behind the
spyware has multiple clients.

"Lookout researchers have observed an evolution in the sophistication of the use
of obfuscation and storage of encrypted keys over time," the report warned.
"This indicates that this surveillanceware is an actively maintained product
whose creators make continuous efforts to protect it from discovery and
analysis."

Read more about:

News Briefs



ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Becky Bracken, Senior Editor, Dark Reading

Dark Reading

Becky Bracken is a veteran multimedia journalist covering cybersecurity for Dark
Reading.

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