Among the apparent targets of tools provided by the impacted company, I-Soon, are ethnicities and dissidents in parts of China that have seen significant anti-government protests like Hong Kong or Xinjiang.

Chinese police are investigating an unauthorized and highly unusual online dump of documents from a private security contractor linked to the nation’s top policing agency and other parts of its government — a trove that catalogs apparent hacking activity and tools to spy on both Chinese and foreigners.

Among the apparent targets of tools provided by the impacted company, I-Soon: ethnicities and dissidents in parts of China that have seen significant anti-government protests, such as Hong Kong or the heavily Muslim region of Xinjiang in China’s far west.

The dump of scores of documents late last week and subsequent investigation were confirmed by two employees of I-Soon, known as Anxun in Mandarin, which has ties to the powerful Ministry of Public Security. The dump, which analysts consider highly significant even if it does not reveal any especially novel or potent tools, includes hundreds of pages of contracts, marketing presentations, product manuals, and client and employee lists.

  • Flying Squid
    1•9 months ago

    I didn’t include China on the spectrum cause I feel that’s silly.

    This article is literally about China spying on its people. And on your spectrum, it is ‘nothing’ in terms of spying on its people.

    And you still seem to be saying that China doesn’t do that. And that would be what is silly.