RSF uncovers new spyware program used in Belarus for years

Reporters Without Borders (RSF)’s Digital Security Lab (DSL), working with the Eastern European organisation RESIDENT.NGO, has uncovered a previously unknown spyware tool used by the State Security Committee (KGB) of Belarus to target, among others, journalists and media workers. The software appears to have been in use for several years.

The spyware, initially labelled “ResidentBat” when identified, targets Android smartphones and enables access to highly sensitive data. Unlike well-known spyware products used against journalists such as Pegasus, ResidentBat does not exploit digital vulnerabilities. The spyware is masqueraded as a regular application.

ResidentBat enables access to call logs, microphone recordings, screen captures, SMS messages, messages from encrypted messaging apps, and locally stored files.

By deploying surveillance technologies such as ResidentBat, the Belarusian state is pursuing a deliberate strategy of repression against independent journalism. These tools have nothing to do with national security, instead they have everything to do with intimidation and silencing of journalists. The systematic invasion of their private and professional lives amounts to a direct and unlawful assault on press freedom and fundamental rights.