How a Russian man’s harrowing tale shows the physical dangers of spyware

Citizen Lab and an exile human-rights group analyzed a Moscow activist's phone and found it infected with spyware embedded in a trojanized Cube Call Recorder app—functionally similar to the Monokle family—after Russian authorities confiscated the device and compelled the owner to unlock it. The malware can record audio, video, location, and remotely answer calls; the report highlights the risk of physical-access compromise and coercion by state actors as a vector for persistent surveillance.