The Internet Coup: A Technical Analysis on How a Chinese Company is Exporting The Great Firewall to Autocratic Regimes | InterSecLab
This research reveals groundbreaking findings on how Geedge Networks is selling an extensive suite of next-generation digital repression tools to client governments around the world.
Interestingly, Geedge is developing the rules of censorship for and with the client governments. A list found inside the leak contains 281 applications to be blocked. Among them are VPNs, Tor/Orbot, the tool Psiphon, and – depending on the country – also messengers like Signal and Whatsapp.
29.09.2025 10:41 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Amnesty International
Digital Surveillance: How States Are Spying on the Resistance
Am Dienstag, dem 30. September, laden @amnesty.de und @hauberlin.bsky.social zum Event „Digital Surveillance: How States Are Spying on the Resistance“. Mehr Infos und Tickets zur Paneldiskussion: www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/programm/pde...
26.09.2025 14:30 — 👍 11 🔁 6 💬 1 📌 0
Amnesty International
Digital Surveillance: How States Are Spying on the Resistance
Registration:
www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/en/programme...
Workshops and Digital Security Clinic for Civil Society (drop in) are free!
If you cannot afford the evening panel ticket (8 Euro) but would like to join, reach out to me or @chorlitz.bsky.social.
26.09.2025 09:49 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Weißer Text auf schwarzem Grund: Digital Surveillance: How States are Spying on the Resistance, mit Logos von HAU und Amnesty International
Join us?
💥Workshops w/ @papertrailmedia.de @amnesty.de @interseclab.bsky.social
💥Dig. Security Clinic w/ @accessnow.org, @pressefreiheit.bsky.social&Tact. Tech
💥Panel w/ @donncha.is @sophieintveld.bsky.social @davidyambio.bsky.social @anjaosterhaus.bsky.social
&Art by @forensicarchi.bsky.social
26.09.2025 09:46 — 👍 33 🔁 22 💬 1 📌 0
Other provinces affected are Fujian and Jiangsu. The Geedge activity inside China shows high levels of trust that the company enjoyed by the Chinese government. The leak also indicates a close relation between Geedge and Mesalab, an academic research laboratory at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
25.09.2025 23:43 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Previous research by the GFW Report already indicated the existence of provincial firewalls across China with different levels of surveillance and censorship. The Geedge leak confirms that. Xinjiang, the home of 11 million Uyghurs, seems to serve as a testing ground for Geedge's new features.
25.09.2025 23:43 — 👍 0 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
The unknown client: A24 is the codename for a client country we were not able to identify. Geedge’s naming convention suggests that the country starts with A and collaboration started in 2024. The implementation of Geedge tools at A24 has been in its early stages when the documents were leaked.
23.09.2025 13:29 — 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
Some ISPs that collaborated with Geedge have received investment from Western institutions. Frontiir (Myanmar) has been supported by the governments of Denmark, Norway and the UK. Safaricom (Ethiopia) received investment from the World Bank Group and British International Investment, among others.
23.09.2025 13:29 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Complicity of Western companies: The Geedge suite relies on the DRM software “Sentinel HASP” to manage its subscriptions. This product is owned by the French aerospace and defense giant Thales Group. Thales confirmed the cooperation, but stated that Geedge does not rely on Sentinel to function.
23.09.2025 13:29 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
The Tigray internet shutdown lasted 2 years and was one of the longest in history. It presumably enabled and concealed serious war crimes by hindering people to publish news on social media.
23.09.2025 13:29 — 👍 2 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
We proudly want to present you our analysis of the stalkerware Celular007 that has been covered today by the Brazilian magazine Piauí.
18.09.2025 18:15 — 👍 2 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
Celular007 can listen to calls, determine the location, read notifications and messages, access apps such as Whatsapp, Facebook or Instagram, and use the camera remotely. With these permissions, it turns the victim’s phone into an omni-present spy that accesses even the most intimate parts of life.
18.09.2025 17:32 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
Its 2-day trial period only requires an email address, and the website offers detailed instructions for non-technical users. Installation requires physical access to the victim’s device, though. Once installed, the app remains invisible and gains almost full control of the victim’s phone.
18.09.2025 17:32 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
After a hack of the company’s database, the extent of the stalking has become apparent: With over 100.000 phones infected only by Celular007, the app appears to be used in intimate relationships, against political enemies as well as by police officers. The Android app is easily accessible online.
18.09.2025 17:32 — 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
We proudly want to present you our analysis of the stalkerware Celular007 that has been covered today by the Brazilian magazine Piauí @revistapiaui.bsky.social: piaui.folha.uol.com.br/aplicativo-e... (Portuguese)
Celular007 has been widely used for illegal spying, mostly in Brazil.
18.09.2025 17:32 — 👍 4 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
🔎 Exposing Digital Repression Together
Leak has exposed the dark role of Geedge Networks in enabling digital repression globally. Docs reviewed by ⬇️
@interseclab.bsky.social
@papertrailmedia.de
@amnesty.org
@theglobeandmail.com
@ftm.eu
@derstandard.at
@torproject.org
18.09.2025 08:30 — 👍 3 🔁 3 💬 1 📌 1
“This is very frightening,” @interseclab.bsky.social's Marla Rivera explained the technical details of new @opentechfund.bsky.social - supported research into Geedge Networks’ censorship and surveillance technologies to @wired.com.
18.09.2025 13:02 — 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
We are glad to see that our research on the #GreatFirewallExport has raised a lot of interest, and has been covered by international media and on various social media platforms, including in the countries affected, such as Myanmar, Kazakhstan, and in the Chinese (diaspora) media! Some examples:
18.09.2025 12:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Amnesty International
Digital Surveillance: How States Are Spying on the Resistance
Come hear @interseclab.bsky.social, @papertrailmedia.de and Amnesty talk about our latest investigation the Great Firewall Export in Berlin on 30 September! www.hebbel-am-ufer.de/en/programme...
17.09.2025 08:42 — 👍 8 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
1️⃣100,000+ leaked Geedge Networks docs exposes how it exports a commercial version of China's "Great Firewall" worldwide.
Dataset was reviewed by a coalition of media & NGO/CSOs:
@interseclab.bsky.social
@papertrailmedia.de
@amnesty.org
@theglobeandmail.com
@ftm.eu
@derstandard.at
@torproject.org
16.09.2025 03:03 — 👍 4 🔁 4 💬 1 📌 0
New @opentechfund.bsky.social-supported research from @interseclab.bsky.social and partners uncovers how Chinese company Geedge Networks is exporting a comprehensive, turnkey surveillance and censorship system worldwide.
Learn more:
buff.ly/R7FJAyD
16.09.2025 16:03 — 👍 6 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 0
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