Click Here Erased: The curious case of UyghurEdit++
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Aug 15, 2025 Rebecca Brown, a senior researcher at the Citizen Lab, dives into the alarming digital surveillance faced by the Uyghurs in China. She reveals how technologies that should protect identities are instead erasing them. The discussion highlights the oppressive measures targeting Uyghur culture, including the misuse of cloud services and software updates. Brown sheds light on the resilience of Uyghur activists amid targeted cyberattacks and advocates for secure digital tools crucial for cultural preservation during this campaign against their identity.
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Phones As Comprehensive Surveillance Tools
- Modern surveillance extends beyond cameras into smartphones and spyware, turning phones into comprehensive trackers of people’s lives.
- Rebecca Brown explains that access to a phone can reveal more about someone than close friends or family.
Surveillance Beyond Borders
- China targets Uyghurs abroad to trace information flows and contacts, not just to control territory inside Xinjiang.
- Rebecca Brown says authorities want to know how counter-narrative information leaves the country and who receives it.
Malicious Offer Masquerading As Help
- A World Uyghur Congress member received an emailed offer to test a new Uyghur word processor called Uyghur Edit++.
- After clicking the download link, Google warned they had been targeted by a government-backed attacker and they called Citizen Lab.