Kristina Balaam

Staff Security Intelligence Engineer

Kristina is a Staff Security Intelligence Engineer at Lookout where she reverse engineers mobile malware. Prior to Lookout, she worked as an Application Security Engineer at Shopify focusing mostly on Android mobile security. Kristina graduated with a Bachelor of Computer Science from McGill University in 2012, and is currently pursuing a MSc. in Information Security Engineering from the SANS Institute of Technology. She blogs about computer security on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube under the handle @chmodxx.”

My Articles

Lookout Discovers Massistant Chinese Mobile Forensic Tooling

Massistant is a mobile forensics application used by law enforcement in China to collect extensive information from mobile devices.

Lookout Discovers New Chinese Surveillance Tool Used by Public Security Bureaus

Lookout researchers have discovered a new Chinese surveillance family used by Chinese law enforcement to collect extensive information from mobile devices.

BadBazaar: iOS and Android Surveillanceware by China’s APT15 Used to Target Tibetans and Uyghurs

Researchers from Lookout have uncovered two new surveillance campaigns, BadBazaar and MOONSHINE, targeting Uyghurs in the People’s Republic of China and abroad.

Lookout Attributes Advanced Android Surveillanceware to Chinese Espionage Group APT41

Lookout researchers discover advanced Android surveillanceware tied to Chinese espionage group APT41 known to target a wide range of public and private sector organizations.

MOONSHINE: Evolving Android Surveillanceware by Chinese APT POISON CARP To Target Tibetans and Uyghurs

MOONSHINE is a family of Android surveillanceware that is attributed to the Chinese-backed hacking group POISON CARP, also known as Evil Eye and Earth Empusa.

What You Need To Know About the Banking Trojan Anubis

Lookout researchers have discovered a novel distribution of the Anubis Android banking malware masquerading as telecommunications company, Orange S.A.

Lookout Takes Down Phishing Scams Targeting U.S. Military Families

Lookout researchers looking into phishing campaign that has actively targeted families of United States military personnel.

Rooting Malware Makes a Comeback: Lookout Discovers Global Campaign

Security researchers at Lookout have identified a new rooting malware distributed on Google Play, the Amazon Appstore and the Samsung Galaxy Store.

Adware "BeiTaAd" Found Hidden in Popular Applications

BeiTaAd is a well-obfuscated advertising plug-in hidden within a number of popular applications in Google Play. Discover more about this mobile threat.

Why Should You Care About APTs and Nation-State Attacks?

APTs aren’t just the concerns of national governments. See why private enterprises need to pay attention to these threat actors and their campaigns.

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Why We Need More Women in Cybersecurity

As a member of the Lookout threat intelligence team, I’m often asked: “how do I break into the cybersecurity and IT industry?” I discuss this and more with Victoria Mosby.

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