Chinese hackers utilized fake Facebook pages to spy on Uyghur activists, reporters and dissidents from Asia’s Xinjiang area, the business announced on Wednesday.

Facebook stated the hacking procedure additionally targeted people surviving in Turkey, Kazakhstan, the U.S., Syria, Australia and Canada. In total, fewer than 500 individuals were affected.

The hackers attempted to gain use of computer systems and phones by producing fake Facebook pages that had been designed to appeal to a Uyghur market, the Associated Press reported.

In some instances, the hackers created look-alike websites and records which were nearly exactly the same as genuine news websites well-liked by Uyghur Muslims across the Xinjiang area.

Those fake accounts included harmful links that contaminated computer systems and smart phones then allow the hackers to gain access and spy on devices if clicked, which would.

“They attempted to produce these personas, build trust in the neighborhood, and usage that in order to fool people into simply clicking these links to expose their products,” Nathaniel Gleicher, Facebook’s mind of protection policy, told reporters on Wednesday.

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Xinjiang hosts approximately 11 million Uyghurs, a predominantly Muslim-Turkic ethnic minority. Read more