A Leaking Leak of a Chinese Technology Company to Spy for the Chinese Government: Internal Investigations into the Competition Algorithms
A large trove of more than 500 sensitive technical documents posted online anonymously last week details one Chinese technology company’s hacking operations, target lists and marketing materials for the Chinese government.
The majority of the operations are intended to spy and harassment dissidents who publicly criticize the Chinese government.
Target lists reveal victims from at least 14 governments from Pakistan to Australia, as well as academic institutions, pro-democracy organizations in places like Hong Kong, as well as the military alliance NATO. The company was bidding for work to spy on the Uyghur population, which has been criticized by major global human rights’ organizations around the world. There are even pictures of custom devices used for spying, such as a recording device disguised as a power bank.
The contents of the leak are helpful to specialists who are still looking at them. Individual documents can be used to check assumptions about who was responsible for previous breeches.
There are details of internal pay scales and other contract information with the Chinese government in the leak. There is a note, or “ReadMe” document, included on the GitHub page where the leak is hosted, where the purported source of the leak claims to be dissatisfied with the company’s policies. It’s possible that the source is a disgruntled employee or the work of a competitor, though that could also mean the leak is the result of an intelligence operation.
The state-affiliated company, called i-Soon, is known to be one of many contractors and subcontractors who compete for opportunities to perform hacking and surveillance operations for different Chinese government agencies. The company is currently facing litigation from another Chinese contractor called Chengdu 404, a company that the U.S. government has publicly linked in court documents to hacking operations for the state. It appears i-Soon may have done subcontracting work with Chengdu 404.
But beyond what’s publicly known, the details in the leak give internal insights into how an increasingly competitive marketplace for hacking operations within China functions. It’s unclear if all the claims made in marketing materials included in the leak are true, such as the ability to break into devices manufactured by top U.S. companies like Apple and Microsoft. However, it’s clear that the company is heavily invested in automating the ability to constantly monitor platforms like X and Facebook. Those platforms, unlike the popular WeChat, are not controlled by the Chinese government, making them popular with dissidents.
The Up First newsletter: Alabama lawmakers move to protect in vitro fertilization; massive leak uncover Chinese hacking operations – the case of Avdiivka
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At least three Alabama three fertility clinics have halted or restricted in vitro fertilization (IVF) services since the state’s Supreme Court ruled last week that frozen embryos should be considered children under Alabama law. The legislature is pushing to clarify the court’s ruling.
Space company Intuitive Machines has completed the the first commercial spacecraft landing on the moon. It’s the first U.S. lunar landing since the Apollo program ended more than five decades ago. Odysseus, the robotic probe, carries several NASA experiments that will be used to study the environment around the lander and to develop some new technologies for future landings.
On the second anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, there will be a ceremony. After months of stalemate, Russia saw a victory when it occupied the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka. Russia moved the Black sea naval fleet after Ukrainian troops made progress attacking targets in Russian-annexed Crimea.
Source: Alabama lawmakers move to protect IVF; massive leak reveals Chinese hacking operations
The Kamogowa Food Detectives and Alynda Segarra’s Last Song The Past Is Still Alive – A Tale of Two Vagabonds
Learn about the influences of Japanese, Chinese and Dutch dishes on Taiwanese cuisine with photos of some tasty dishes. Be warned: These photos will make you hungry!
In space drama, the astronauts are struggling to survive after everything goes wrong. The show becomes more disturbing and profound as the clues get more clear.
It is possible to buy the Japanese series The Kamogowa Food Detectives in English. The first novel has a collection of interrelated stories where Nagare investigates his clients’ forgotten dishes.
Alynda Segarra records music under the name Hurray for Riff Raff. Their latest album, The Past is Still Alive, dives into deeply personal stories from their vagabond youth.