Tibetans too under spyware radar

MUMBAI: Seven months ago, Tenzin Dalha, a research fellow at the Tibet Policy Institute in Dharamshala received a WhatsApp message from a person who claimed to be a journalist working with the Sing Tao Daily in Hong Kong. The person wanted Dalha to answer a few questions about himself and Tibet as part of a survey. Dhala, who is part of an experienced group of cyber security researchers, however knew the message was malware used to spy on activists and sympathisers of Tibet groups who were anti-China.

“I found myself under surveillance as I received random messages and links from numbers either associated from China or registered in Tibet,” Dalha told ET in a phone interview. “The malware received were mostly in WhatsApp and the Chinese social messaging app WeChat,” he added.