This report performs the first public analysis of MMTLS, the main network protocol used by WeChat, an app with over one billion users. The report finds that MMTLS is a modified version of TLS, however some of the modifications have introduced cryptographic weaknesses.
A sophisticated spear phishing campaign has been targeting Western and Russian civil society. In collaboration with Access Now, and with the participation of numerous civil society organizations, we uncover this operation and link it to COLDRIVER, a group attributed by multiple governments to the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).
In this report, we examine cloud-based pinyin keyboard apps from nine vendors (Baidu, Honor, Huawei, iFlyTek, OPPO, Samsung, Tencent, Vivo, and Xiaomi) for vulnerabilities in how the apps transmit user keystrokes. Our analysis found that eight of the nine apps identified contained vulnerabilities that could be exploited to completely reveal the contents of users’ keystrokes in transit. We estimate that up to one billion users could be vulnerable to having all of their keystrokes intercepted, constituting a tremendous risk to user security.
A network of at least 123 websites operated from within the People’s Republic of China while posing as local news outlets in 30 countries across Europe, Asia, and Latin America, disseminates pro-Beijing disinformation and ad hominem attacks within much larger volumes of commercial press releases. We name this campaign PAPERWALL. We attribute the PAPERWALL campaign to Shenzhen Haimaiyunxiang Media Co., Ltd., aka Haimai, a PR firm in China based on digital infrastructure linkages between the firm’s official website and the network. These findings confirm the increasingly important role private firms play in the realm of digital influence operations and the propensity of the Chinese government to make use of them.
The Citizen Lab is an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto, focusing on research and development at the intersection of information and communication technologies, human rights, and global security. Learn more.
In an interview with CTV Kitchener, The Citizen Lab’s director Ron Deibert discusses the U.S. Department of Commerce’s decision to remove Sandvine from the Entity List.
Under the general direction of The Citizen Lab Director and the Administrative Director, Citizen Lab, and reporting to the Systems and Security Technical Lead, the System and Security Administrator manages the security support needs of The Citizen Lab, carrying out a range of information technology-related responsibilities.
In an article for the Harvard Kennedy School’s Misinformation Review, Gabrielle Lim, doctoral fellow at The Citizen Lab, and co-authors Irene Pasquetto (University of Maryland) and Samantha Bradshaw (American University), discuss the complex challenges facing the field of misinformation.
The Citizen Lab’s director Ron Deibert is presenting a paper, co-authored with senior legal researcher Siena Anstis, at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University’s event Regardless of Frontiers: First Amendment & Exchange of Ideas Across Borders.
Research FAQ for the full report “Should We Chat, Too? Security Analysis of WeChat’s MMTLS Encryption Protocol”
Microsoft’s Digital Crimes Unit takes legal action to dismantle Russia-based threat actor COLDRIVER following a joint investigation by The Citizen Lab and Access Now. In August, The Citizen Lab, jointly with Access Now, in collaboration with First Department, Arjuna Team, and RESIDENT.ngo, published a report that uncovered two distinct spear-phishing campaigns targeting members of Russian… Read more »
