German Uighurs are reportedly the target of a suspected Chinese cyberattack. They are currently receiving an increased number of emails that are believed to be behind a Chinese state Trojan, according to reports from Der Spiegel and ZDF, citing their own investigations.
The cyberattacks are part of a systematic effort to suppress criticism of China from abroad, according to experts. The emails apparently urge members of the ethnic minority to test an alleged text program in Uighur language. However, the program actually installs a spyware that disables security settings, collects IP addresses and can transmit local data to the attacker.
The entire attack, including all observed methods and tactics, matches known attacks by Chinese state hacker groups, according to the Toronto-based research institute Citizen Lab, which confirmed the findings to Der Spiegel.
Earlier this month, German, British, Canadian, Australian and US authorities had warned of targeted cyberattacks from China. The campaign’s victims were urged to install malicious software through fake messaging apps. The malicious programs would be used “to spy on Chinese minorities abroad and dissenters” according to the services. Besides Uighurs, Tibetans and people from Hong Kong and Taiwan are among the primary targets.