Telegram CEO says an extortionist planted CSAM in a chat to get it pulled from the App Store
Telegram CEO says an extortionist planted CSAM in a chat to get it pulled from the App Store
Telegram 首席执行官称有勒索者在聊天中植入儿童性虐待内容，意图导致其被 App Store 下架
Pavel Durov claims attackers post illegal content and manipulate reports to ‘trigger the removal of legitimate communities.’ Pavel Durov 声称，攻击者通过发布非法内容并操纵举报，试图“触发合法社区的下架”。
Telegram CEO Pavel Durov blames an extortionist for planting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in a public chat to get the app temporarily removed from Apple’s App Store on Monday night. “Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us,” Durov says in a post on X. “This creates a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be.” Telegram 首席执行官 Pavel Durov 指责一名勒索者在公共聊天中植入儿童性虐待材料（CSAM），导致该应用在周一晚上被苹果 App Store 暂时下架。“苹果在联系我们之前就将 Telegram 从 App Store 中移除了，”Durov 在 X 上发帖称。“这为每一个托管用户生成内容的移动应用带来了潜在的系统性风险。如果一个拥有超过十亿用户的应用可以在没有事先警告的情况下被从 App Store 移除，那么任何应用都有可能遭遇同样的命运。”
Durov adds, “Extortionists have found a way to manipulate Apple into overreacting.” Apple didn’t immediately respond to The Verge’s request for comment. Durov 补充道：“勒索者已经找到了一种操纵苹果过度反应的方法。”苹果公司没有立即回应 The Verge 的置评请求。
Russia recently issued an arrest warrant for Durov, claiming Telegram facilitates terrorism, and in 2024 he was arrested in France on charges including enabling illegal transactions. 俄罗斯近期对 Durov 发出了逮捕令，声称 Telegram 为恐怖主义提供了便利；2024 年，他在法国被捕，罪名包括协助非法交易等。
“These extortionists use automated accounts to plant illegal content in public groups and then report it directly to Apple, attempting to trigger the removal of legitimate communities whose owners refused to pay them,” writes Durov. Durov 写道：“这些勒索者使用自动化账户在公共群组中植入非法内容，然后直接向苹果举报，试图触发那些拒绝支付赎金的群主所管理的合法社区被下架。”
Durov says that the attacker in this incident “inserted AI-modified illegal content by editing an old message in an active group chat,” preventing members of the group from seeing or reporting it. Durov 表示，此次事件中的攻击者“通过编辑活跃群聊中的旧消息，插入了经 AI 修改的非法内容”，从而阻止了群成员看到或举报该内容。
Here’s Durov’s full statement:
以下是 Durov 的完整声明：
Last night Apple briefly removed Telegram from the AppStore because a user had planted illegal porn in a public chat. Telegram was restored within hours. But I want to explain what happened — to warn other app developers and help protect online communities from similar attacks. 昨晚，苹果短暂地将 Telegram 从 App Store 下架，原因是一名用户在公共聊天中植入了非法色情内容。Telegram 在几小时内就恢复了。但我想要解释发生了什么，以提醒其他应用开发者，并帮助保护在线社区免受类似攻击。
Because Telegram quickly removes illegal content from public groups using all kinds of moderation tools, the attacker had to resort to a technical trick. He inserted AI-modified illegal content by editing an old message in an active group chat. As a result the content was effectively hidden from the group’s members, preventing them from seeing/reporting it. 由于 Telegram 使用各种审核工具迅速从公共群组中删除非法内容，攻击者不得不采取技术手段。他通过编辑活跃群聊中的旧消息，插入了经 AI 修改的非法内容。结果，该内容实际上对群成员隐藏了，使他们无法看到或举报。
The attacker was a takedown extortionist: someone who demands ransom from group owners in exchange for not targeting their communities. These extortionists use automated accounts to plant illegal content in public groups and then report it directly to Apple, attempting to trigger the removal of legitimate communities whose owners refused to pay them. 攻击者是一名“下架勒索者”：即通过威胁攻击社区来向群主勒索赎金的人。这些勒索者使用自动化账户在公共群组中植入非法内容，然后直接向苹果举报，试图触发那些拒绝支付赎金的群主所管理的合法社区被下架。
From a practical standpoint, illegal pornographic content in Telegram’s public groups is not a systemic problem. Our moderation is effective. The fact that attackers must resort to backdated, effectively invisible content and other technical tricks proves this. 从实际角度来看，Telegram 公共群组中的非法色情内容并非系统性问题。我们的审核是有效的。攻击者必须诉诸于追溯性、实际上不可见的内容以及其他技术手段，恰恰证明了这一点。
⚠️ However, there are two important lessons here for app developers and online communities: ⚠️ 然而，这对应用开发者和在线社区有两个重要的教训：
— Extortionists have found a way to manipulate Apple into overreacting. Apple removed Telegram from the App Store before contacting us. This creates a potential systemic risk for every mobile app that hosts user-generated content. If an app used by more than a billion people can be removed from the App Store without prior warning, any app can be. — 勒索者已经找到了一种操纵苹果过度反应的方法。苹果在联系我们之前就将 Telegram 从 App Store 中移除了。这为每一个托管用户生成内容的移动应用带来了潜在的系统性风险。如果一个拥有超过十亿用户的应用可以在没有事先警告的情况下被从 App Store 移除，那么任何应用都有可能遭遇同样的命运。
— The tactics used by takedown extortionists are evolving, putting communities across social platforms at risk. Telegram has extensive experience identifying the tricks used by coordinated reporting gangs and protecting legitimate communities (even when doing so risks our own app being temporarily removed from the App Store). Other platforms may not be equally prepared. — 下架勒索者使用的策略正在演变，使各社交平台上的社区面临风险。Telegram 在识别协同举报团伙使用的手段以及保护合法社区方面拥有丰富的经验（即使这样做冒着我们自己的应用被暂时从 App Store 下架的风险）。其他平台可能没有做好同样的准备。
Stay vigilant! ☝️ 保持警惕！☝️