Researchers have detected a new espionage campaign that uses Mac- and Windows-based malware to snoop on Chinese dissidents.

Both pieces of malware target Uyghur activists, who have reportedly clashed with the Chinese government in the past. Both malicious programs connect to the same command and control channel—physically located in China—and allow the attackers to take control of infected machines. Researchers from antivirus provider Kaspersky Lab spotted the Mac version on Friday morning. A few hours later, researchers with security firm AlienVault uncovered Windows-based malware that is part of the same campaign.

Kaspersky researchers detected the campaign on Wednesday. It arrives in e-mails that attempt to trick the receiver into installing a new variant of the MaControl backdoor and works on Macs that are powered with processors from Intel, as well as older PowerPC CPUs. The malware appears to be a newer version of Mac-based espionage malware discovered in March by AlienVault, company researchers said. They added that the Windows malware they found also uses e-mail-based social engineering to infect users. The malware has ties to Gh0stRat, a huge malware-based spy network uncovered three years ago that infiltrated government and private offices in 103 countries.