Facebook has removed a group of China-based hackers it says targeted members of the Uighur community living abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It said hackers used malicious websites and apps to infect devices and allow for remote surveillance, with journalists and activists targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of the cyber attacks didn’t happen directly on Facebook but used the social media platform to share links to infected sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is not the first time hackers have been accused of such activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Uighurs are originally from the north-western region of Xinjiang in China and those targeted are currently living in places including Turkey, the United States, Australia and Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“This activity had the hallmarks of a well-resourced and persistent operation, while obfuscating who’s behind it,” Facebook’s Mike Dvilyanski, head of cyber espionage investigations, and Nathaniel Gleicher, head of security policy, said in a blog post.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook said it removed accounts – which totalled fewer than 100 – it found to have been created by the hackers, a group known as Earth Empusa or Evil Eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It believes fewer than 500 accounts were targeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Facebook says some of the ways the group infected devices included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
creating fake Uighur-themed apps for the Android app store, including a prayer app and a dictionary app
posing on Facebook as journalists, students, human rights advocates or members of the Uighur community, building trust and tricking them into clicking on malicious links
creating look-alike websites for popular Uighur and Turkish news websites
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has yet to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China is facing mounting criticism from around the world over its treatment of the mostly Muslim Uighur population in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rights groups believe China has detained more than a million Uighurs over the past few years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
China denies allegations of abuse, saying camps in the region are “re-education” facilities used to combat terrorism.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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