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Privacy Security Cellphones

Chinese Authorities Are Using a New Tool To Hack Seized Phones and Extract Data (techcrunch.com) 22

An anonymous reader quotes a report from TechCrunch: Security researchers say Chinese authorities are using a new type of malware to extract data from seized phones, allowing them to obtain text messages -- including from chat apps such as Signal -- images, location histories, audio recordings, contacts, and more. In a report shared exclusively with TechCrunch, mobile cybersecurity company Lookout detailed the hacking tool called Massistant, which the company said was developed by Chinese tech giant Xiamen Meiya Pico.

Massistant, according to Lookout, is Android software used for the forensic extraction of data from mobile phones, meaning the authorities using it need to have physical access to those devices. While Lookout doesn't know for sure which Chinese police agencies are using the tool, its use is assumed widespread, which means Chinese residents, as well as travelers to China, should be aware of the tool's existence and the risks it poses. [...]

The good news ... is that Massistant leaves evidence of its compromise on the seized device, meaning users can potentially identify and delete the malware, either because the hacking tool appears as an app, or can be found and deleted using more sophisticated tools such as the Android Debug Bridge, a command line tool that lets a user connect to a device through their computer. The bad news is that at the time of installing Massistant, the damage is done, and authorities already have the person's data.
"It's a big concern. I think anybody who's traveling in the region needs to be aware that the device that they bring into the country could very well be confiscated and anything that's on it could be collected," said Kristina Balaam, a researcher at Lookout who analyzed the malware. "I think it's something everybody should be aware of if they're traveling in the region."

Chinese Authorities Are Using a New Tool To Hack Seized Phones and Extract Data

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  • by Kernel Kurtz ( 182424 ) on Wednesday July 16, 2025 @06:37PM (#65525666)
    The state of the world is such nowadays that you should not take your regular electronic devices across borders. Any borders.
    • by Tablizer ( 95088 )

      Mess with them: place triggering content on it like Tank Man, Taiwan-is-real-China meme, and Satanic Pooh Bear. [reddit.com]

      When they spot it just say, "It's a burner phone I bought on the street, I didn't put that on."

      However, they'll still probably hold or harass you for a few days. Might be worth it just to see their faces. Autocrats are meant to be screwed with.

    • by piojo ( 995934 )

      The state of the world is such nowadays that you should not take your regular electronic devices across borders. Any borders.

      My time and convenience is worth more than the infinitesimal risk of being harassed/detained/killed by the border control agents. If you are an activist, bring burner devices. Otherwise, bring a burner if you find it titillating to use a burner during your trip.

  • I originally read the headline as "....hack seized photos...."

    Thought a minute. Re-read it.

    "Phones" does make more sense here than "photos".

  • This is why any applet keeping a log of personal contacts, is bad.

    If one is crossing a border, any applet with a built-in communication history should be uninstalled: Remove the history, remove the address book, remove the identity. Government agents have been spying on phones for 15 years. Why are people still getting caught? They're thinking it "won't happen to me". They don't want to put the time in, deleting their history and then act surprised when their history is stolen.

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      If one is crossing a border, any applet with a built-in communication history should be uninstalled

      All they need is your phone number, user name, IMEI and they'll just fetch all that stuff from your cloud backup or telecom logs. If one is crossing a border, leave your phone at home.

  • I'd have thought the proverbial "$5 wrench" would be adequate in China to get a cell phone unlocked.
    • "The malware must be planted on an unlocked device"

      So, is some special malware needed when the police get an unlocked phone? Isn't the problem simply that the police have an unlocked phone?

    • by PPH ( 736903 )

      Well, they need a new one because the old wrench finally wore out (made of Chinesium, not that good stuff SnapOn uses).

  • So, they supposedly have a tool.

    Big f'ing deal. Even if true, no way they are anywhere close to the USA level of intrusiveness or enforcement. The USA is terrible...to the point where this tool is almost a joke, it seems.

    Actually, the way it is described is so pathetic that it makes me wonder if the report is real.

  • Buy an iPhone.:-)

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