China is known for taking serious steps when it comes to maintaining the security of this nation. This time, China has taken its steps to another next level.
According to the reports from vice, Chinese border guards are for forcing the tourists to install an app which is basically a malware on their phones. This app copies text messages and all the other data present in the phone including contacts, notes, call logs and also scans the entire phone for different files.
It is to be noted that this incident is taking place everywhere. This is actually happening when the tourists are crossing the Chinese border leading to the Xinjiang region. Xinjiang region is home to the Uighur population. These are Turkic Muslims. The phones are being taken by the border guards from the tourists and then the malware is installed on their phone which basically copies all the data of the phones and sends it to the concerned authorities.
The government of China has been very strict and unfriendly towards the Uighur for years and this time the authorities conducted a massive campaign of surveillance and oppression against the local Muslims. The malware called BXAQ or Fengcai has been specially created to keep an eye on these Uighur people and their supporters.
Vice took a copy of this malware and send it to the security labs for analyzing it. After the analyzation, it is found that this app only copies data and send it to the Chinese servers and it does not have an ability or functionality to exploit any security loopholes or vulnerabilities.
