Targeting of Uyghurs outside China with trojanized Signal and Telegram apps
Date of report
  • August 2023
Affiliations
Mirage uploaded fake Signal and Telegram apps to the Google Play store. The apps were primarily marketed at Uyghurs living outside of China. Both were designed to steal users’ data, and the Telegram copy was downloaded by at least 13,953 different users.
Suspected victims
  • Uyghurs outside of China downloading Telegram or Signal
Suspected state sponsor
  • China
Type of incident
  • Espionage
Target category
  • Civil society
Victim government reaction
  • Unknown
Policy response
Suspected state sponsor response