Massistant Madness: China’s New Mobile Data Collector Raises Privacy Alarms
Lookout reveals China’s Massistant, a mobile forensics tool used by law enforcement to extract data from devices. Believed to replace MFSocket, both tools require physical access and work with desktop software. Massistant’s sneaky features include bypassing security software and vacuuming data from apps like Letstalk, Signal, and Telegram.
Hot Take:
**_Just when you thought your phone was safe from prying eyes, along comes Massistant, the mobile forensics tool that’s giving Chinese law enforcement a VIP backstage pass to your digital life. Who knew those pocket-sized computers we carry could become VIP tickets to the land of “I-see-all”?_**
Key Points:
– Massistant is the successor to MFSocket, a mobile forensics tool used by Chinese police.
– Developed by Xiamen Meiya Pico Information, sanctioned by the US in 2021.
– Requires physical access for installation, works with desktop software.
– Capable of collecting data from messaging apps like Signal and Telegram.
– Meiya Pico has sold forensics products to international law enforcement, including Russian military intelligence.