LONDON — Britain, the United States and the Netherlands on Tuesday issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iranian state-linked actors to target dissidents, activists and journalists.

Britain’s National Cyber Security Centre said Iranian state-linked cyber actors had used a spyware family known as “CHOSEN BRICK” to steal emails, messages and other sensitive information through “spear-phishing” campaigns on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

“The details of this cyber campaign reveal  how Iran ruthlessly uses digital surveillance in pursuit of  its  aim  to  repress critics of the regime, stealing emails and messages and accessing devices,” Paul Chichester, NCSC Director of Operations, said in a statement.

Iran’s embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The malware, according to the advisory, can collect information from contact lists, emails and social media accounts, capture screen content and access a device’s microphone. The NCSC said some victims’ personal details had later appeared on pro-Iranian leak sites. The FBI, in its own advisory, said Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security........

© The Times of Israel