Moscow has long been suspicious of foreign messaging apps. WeChat’s weak encryption makes it vulnerable.
Russian counterintelligence agents are analyzing data from the popular Chinese messaging and social media app WeChat to monitor people who might be in contact with Chinese spies, according to a Russian intelligence document obtained by The New York Times.
The disclosure highlights the rising level of concern about Chinese influence in Russia as the two countries deepen their relationship. As Russia has become isolated from the West over its war in Ukraine, it has become increasingly reliant on Chinese money, companies and technology. But it has also faced what the document describes as increased Chinese espionage efforts.
The document indicates that the Russian domestic security agency, known as the F.S.B., pulls purloined data into an analytical tool known as “Skopishche” (a Russian word for a mob of people). Information from WeChat is among the data being analyzed, according to the document.
The document offers insights into the espionage tactics of two authoritarian governments that are preoccupied with surveillance.
According to the document, the system processes detailed data on WeChat users, including account logins, contact lists and message archives, some of which are extracted from phones seized from people of interest to Russia’s spy hunters.
