A Chinese program used for online espionage has spread to dozens of countries and, according to cybersecurity experts, can now penetrate not only people’s phones and computers, but also the Internet router, the device that connects all the devices in a home or office to the network.
According to cybersecurity company Arctic Wolf, the program is called LightSpy and is much more advanced than it was when it was first discovered in 2018. Experts say it has become a spying “package” that can be purchased and used by governments, militaries, or various companies.
If a device is infected, the program can take over almost everything on it. It can see the user’s location, read conversations in messaging apps, retrieve saved passwords, take screenshots, and even remotely wipe all data.
The discovery that has experts most concerned is the fact that LightSpy has also been found on routers. This is important because a router is the device that distributes the internet in a home or office. If someone takes control of it, they could also have access to phones, computers, cameras or other devices using the same network.
The Arctic Wolf company says that some of the affected routers are located in NATO member countries, while the network of this program operates through at least 117 servers in different countries around the world.
Investigators were able to link the program’s activity to a Chinese subcontractor after an unusual error. According to the report, one of the people using the system ordered food from a restaurant using his real name and office address, which helped experts trace his identity.