Badass Russian techie outsmarts FSB, flees Putinland all while being tracked with spyware

Citizen Lab and First Department report that Kirill Parubets had his Android phone confiscated by Russian authorities and later returned with Monokle-like spyware installed via a trojanized Cube Call Recorder app. The malicious payload—identified by features and a Monokle-specific class (com.android.twe1ve)—provided location tracking, screen and video recording, input logging, SMS and messaging access, and the ability to install additional packages. Investigators warn that devices briefly held by technically capable security services should be treated as compromised and require expert analysis.