One of the most popular chat apps in the US is actually a foreign spy tool

guest · Dec 22, 2019

One of the most popular chat apps in the US is actually a foreign spy tool
ToTok, an Emirati messaging app that has been downloaded to millions of phones, is the latest escalation of a digital arms race
December 22, 2019
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/...apps-in-the-us-is-actually-a-foreign-spy-tool

The United Arab Emirates is using one of the most popular messaging apps in the United States to track the conversations, locations, and interactions of all of the app’s users.

The app ToTok became one of the most downloaded messaging apps in the U.S. last week on both Apple and Google’s app store. The app, sold as a safe and secure way to communicate, is being used by the U.A.E. to spy on its own people and others around the world, according to the New York Times.
The company that created ToTok, Breej Holding, is believed to be a front group for an Abu Dhabi-based hacking firm called DarkMatter. The firm employees ex-cyberintelligence employees from the Emirates, Israel, and the U.S. National Security Agency.

Google and Apple have pledged to look into the popular app. Google removed it from its store on Thursday, and Apple followed suit on Friday.
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New York Times: It Seemed Like a Popular Chat App. It’s Secretly a Spy Tool.

ToTok appears to have been relatively easy to develop, according to a forensic analysis performed for The Times by Patrick Wardle, a former National Security Agency hacker who works as a private security researcher. It appears to be a copy of a Chinese messaging app offering free video calls, YeeCall, slightly customized for English and Arabic audiences.

On the surface, ToTok tracks users’ location by offering an accurate weather forecast. It hunts for new contacts any time a user opens the app, under the pretense that it is helping connect with their friends, much like how Instagram flags Facebook friends.
Even its name is an apparent play on the popular Chinese app TikTok.
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https://twitter.com/jckichen/status/1208841220677484546

.@patrickwardle captures the overarching issue perfectly: “You don’t need to hack people to spy on them if you can get people to willingly download this app to their phone. By uploading contacts, video chats, location, what more intelligence do you need?”
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guest · Dec 22, 2019

Technical Analysis
Mass Surveillance, is an (un)Complicated Business
triaging a massively popular iOS application, with a dark side
December 20, 2019
https://objective-see.com/blog/blog_0x52.html

Recently, I was approached by the New York Times (NYT) to assist with the investigation into a massively popular iOS application, ToTok.
Today, we’ll walk thru a triage of the ToTok iOS application.

ToTok (by “Breej Holding Ltd.”) is a massively popular application in the United Arab Emirates (UEA). In fact recently it was the #1 “trending” app in Dubai
It’s reviews (over 32,000!) are largely positive, and mostly laud the fact that this application is not blocked in the UEA (Skype, WhatsApp, etc. are blocked, while VPNs are illegal).
…it’s almost as if ToTok is too good to be true! [...]
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zapjb · Dec 22, 2019

To the great unwashed masses NOT my Wilders brethren.

I say duh you stupid pos (point of sale).

guest · Dec 25, 2019

UAE chat app ToTok, reportedly govt's spying tool, denies misusing users' data
The clarification came after ToTok was taken off from Apple and Google App stores last week
December 25, 2019
https://www.livemint.com/technology...enies-misusing-users-data-11577262836608.html

Dubai: Developers of 'ToTok', a popular messaging application, have rebuffed accusations of their service being a spyware and misusing users' information, saying that the company has made security and privacy as its priority "since day one".

"In this holiday season of joy and celebration, we would have preferred not to dignify those who manufacture lies with a direct response. But as ToTok cofounders, we are personally compelled to speak up for ourselves and for our users," Gulf News reported citing the company's statement.
Referring to allegations of lack of security and privacy issues, the company outlined, "Here is the fact - since day one, we have built ToTok with user security and privacy as our priority. [...] "Here is the irony - this technical analysis was actually requested by the same people who initiated the defamation of ToTok," it added.
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reasonablePrivacy · Dec 26, 2019

At least it is not using strong E2E encryption to protect conversations from NSA.

guest · Jan 4, 2020

Totok returns to Google Play Store after UAE's spyware denial
Popular UAE-developed mobile application offers free calling and messaging to millions of users
January 4, 2020
https://www.arabianbusiness.com/tec...rns-to-google-play-store-after-spyware-denial

The popular UAE-developed mobile application ToTok has returned to the Google Play Store after it was removed on claims it was being used for government spying, the company said Saturday.

"We are happy to inform you #ToTok is now available for download on the Google Play Store," a statement on ToTok's Twitter account said.
On its platform, Google lists a series of "updates" to the app, including requesting access to permissions and data and a "newly designed dialog to ask your authorisation of accessing and syncing your contact list".

The UAE's Telecommunications Regulatory Authority denied the accusations, saying that the country's laws "prohibit any kind of data breach and unlawful interception".
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longshots · Jan 4, 2020

zapjb said: ↑

To the great unwashed masses NOT my Wilders brethren
Click to expand...

+1
This is just a never ending story about facebook ferals [generic term for idiots who jump on the latest bandwagon of apps for convenience and social acceptance without regard for consequences].
I'm not the conscience of the world, so I'm sorry to those that may be offended, but I just can't help laughing every time I read stories like this.

guest · Feb 14, 2020

Messaging app ToTok, allegedly used for mass spying, removed from Google Play again
February 14, 2020
https://9to5google.com/2020/02/14/google-play-removes-totok/

Last December, a report from the New York Times detailed how a chat app gaining traction around the world was actually being used as a spying tool by the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While ToTok was initially removed by Apple and Google, the Play Store later restored the messaging service. The Android app today looks to have been pulled again.

As of Friday afternoon, ToTok no longer appears on the Play Store when searching — though there are a number of clones — or visiting the listing directly.
ToTok was removed from the App Store and Google Play before the NYT published its piece on December 22. The latter noted how ToTok violated the store’s policies, but did not specify further. On January 4, the application returned to the Play Store, but Google did not explain why it was let back in.

We’ve reached out to Google for an explanation for this latest removal.
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guest · Feb 20, 2020

ToTok chat app tells users to ignore Google’s spyware warning
February 21, 2020
https://www.grahamcluley.com/totok-chat-app-spyware/

Video chat app ToTok has been removed from the official Android and iOS app stores by Google and Apple respectively, following growing concerns that it was actually helping the government of the United Arab Emirates spy on users’ conversations and location.

ToTok is, to put it mildly, not terribly happy, saying it is deeply concerned and disappointed by “yet another attack perpetrated against our company by those who hold a dominant position in this market.”
In a tweet, ToTok invited users to “ignore the Google notification and continue to enjoy ToTok, which is entirely safe and secure.”

I’m not sure, however, that I would feel terribly comfortable using ToTok right now.
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It’s not as though there aren’t other video chat apps out there which haven’t been tarnished by accusations of helping a government spy…
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ToTok: A note to the ToTok community from our cofounders

We see no legitimate reason for this new ToTok ban.

Once again, the future of our company is at risk due to the unwarranted actions of Apple and Google, those on whom the worldwide developer community relies on, and whose dual role as competitor and operator of the app stores should, after yet another case, raise some concerns among regulators.
Being devoted to transparency, we have also invited Apple and Google teams to meet us and visit our office in person, in the hope of clearing any existing concerns.
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guest · Feb 22, 2020

The strange, unexplained journey of ToTok in Google Play fuels user suspicions
February 21, 2020
https://arstechnica.com/information...ves-totok-app-said-to-spy-for-uae-government/

In late December, Google and Apple removed the ToTok social messaging app from their marketplaces after US intelligence officials told The New York Times it was a tool for surreptitious spying by the United Arab Emirates government.

Over the past few days, Play Protect, the Google service that scans Android devices for apps that violate the company’s terms of service, started displaying a warning that says: “This app tries to spy on your personal data, such as SMS messages, photos, audio recordings, or call history. Even if you have heard of this app or the app developer, this version of the app could harm your device.”
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@Metacurity @Bing_Chris Is this where the tinfoil hat of rampant speculation comes out? UAE friendly insider on app approval team? Allowed it back, was caught and it was pulled again?
— Ben Montour (@benmontour) February 20, 2020
I’ll be watching you
In the months leading up its initial removal, ToTok received millions of downloads from Play and the App Store combined. The iOS app alone had more than 32,000 user reviews, most of them favorable.

“Basically [app developers] didn't have to add any malicious code to the app (on the phone),” Wardle, who is a security researcher at the macOS and iOS enterprise management firm Jamf, told me on Thursday. “Just ban all other apps in the UAE, offer a free alternative, push it via the (state) media/fake reviews [...] Then once you identify targets/ppl of interest, you throw/use your iOS/Android 0days against just those handful of targets. [...]”
Google’s removal and reinstatement of ToTok two months ago, and its reversal this week, reinforce the reputation of Play as a market that poses a security risk to millions of users.
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Google’s silence in explaining ToTock’s back-and-forth availability in play and the company’s reticence in telling users exactly what its analysts know about the app only adds to the suspicions.
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