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Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

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Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#161

Post by est »

> Ms. Lim said the software was intended to help the Chinese client identify junk text messages and calls. She did not identify the company that requested it and said she did not know how many phones were affected. She said phone companies, not Adups, were responsible for disclosing privacy policies to users. “Adups was just there to provide functionality that the phone distributor asked for,” she said.

This whole article is a lot less racist if this paragraph is put on top. You know because every app made by some of the 1.3B people must be a government effort to collect intelligence.

The app is bad because it does the function without consent, not because it's made by Chinese.

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#162

Post by bluetwo »

QuantumRoar wrote: post #59
bluetwo wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Consent. The big difference is consent.

Do not use the Internet. Do not use phones. Do not use bank accounts. Do not travel by plane. Do not enter public spaces. Do not show your face. Otherwise you accept our Terms of Service. Thank you for trusting us. (Is it just me or is it actually very hard to figure out whom I've given consent to do something with something that is mine?)

Even in the age of the internet there is still a thing called the "warranty of merchantability" which says the thing you buy should be the thing you expected to buy. A stereo should play music, a phone should be a phone, a pizza should be a pizza.

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#163

Post by jlgaddis »

code_duck wrote: post #96
freddref wrote: post #52

If we don't really object to sharing our data with a wide range of u.s. companies, why would we care if it is shared with China or anyone else also?

Chinese companies are harder to monitor and learn about. More importantly, they are not bound by and/or are unlikely to follow any data privacy laws.

On the other hand, American companies don't seem to be bound by the laws that we think they are either.

As example, I'll submit PRISM (while admitting that we're still not 100% clear on that) and the retroactive immunity provided to telecom companies.

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#164

Post by jlgaddis »

dandelion_lover wrote: post #32
kbart wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know then that CyanogenOS itself was not modified to include unwanted software?

I guess one could believe the commercial companies whose revenue depends on the trust and on the ethics, such as https://tehnoetic.com/mobile-devices .

Like this exact article/submission that we're all commenting on, where a commercial company did exactly that?

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#165

Post by [deleted] »

dandelion_lover wrote: post #32
kbart wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do you know then that CyanogenOS itself was not modified to include unwanted software?

I guess one could believe the commercial companies whose revenue depends on the trust and on the ethics, such as https://tehnoetic.com/mobile-devices .

[deleted]

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#167

Post by whyagaindavid »

joshumax wrote: post #159
codedokode wrote: post #145

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> In other words, at home you can use your own router; you can set the gateway as a computer that you control. Yes. > What if you had a portable gateway, one that could travel with you? I can rent a VPS and connect through it using "Always-on VPN" option (I did it once and it worked). But then I have to pay for a server monthly in addition to the mobile plan. It is not that expensive but I would prefer just having ac…

> I can rent a VPS and connect through it using "Always-on VPN" option... Still though, you have to worry that the hosting provider is taking adequate measures to protect your data, as well as also not secretly spying on you. I've worked with enough hosting sysops making trivial errors with their OVZ/KVM setups to realize that some VPS providers are about as secure and resilient as a power grid made from discarded to…

The OP instead of doingall these, could get another phone supported by AOSP or Cyanogemnod ROMs.

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#168

Post by whyagaindavid »

codedokode wrote: post #148
hx87 wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Google could provide easy ways to control Internet traffic and to gain root access. For example, they could grant access to builtin linux iptables which doesn't cost anything to implement. And Google is easier to influence than noname chinese company. And the manufacturer could simply unroot the phone and lock its bootloader. At the end of the day it's the phone manufacturer that controls the product, even if Googl…

My phone has an option to unlock a bootloader. But it would take time to find or build a custom ROM and install it and solve all kinds of problems with drivers and hardware. And generally it is pretty decent model. It sends some data home but at least it doesn't have preinstalled adware like another chinese tablet I saw (that displays an ad over browser window and tries to disguise it as a part of a web page).

Then do not buy such hardware. Do your homework or search or ask xda before buying phone/tablet. Or just get nexus or see copperheadOS

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#169

Post by whyagaindavid »

codedokode wrote: post #97
paradite wrote: post #93

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Where did you buy that phone from and what brand was it? I was under the impression that US does not allow selling of Android phones from most Chinese brands due to the reasons you mentioned, and for those that all allowed, they have strict vetting procedures to prevent phones with such capabilities from reaching the US market?

The manufacturer's name is Shenzhen Huafurui Technology if it tells you anything. The brand name is Cubot. I do not live in US but one can buy such kind of phone on Amazon (if you search manufacturer's name there you can find it is even cheaper now). It is good to hear that in some countries importing such phones is not allowed.

Did u search in the web to see if there is a clean AOSP or Cyanogenmod recompileable ROM before buying?

Re: Secret Backdoor in Some U.S. Phones Sent Data to China, Analysts Say

#170

Post by dandelion_lover »

jlgaddis wrote: post #164
dandelion_lover wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess one could believe the commercial companies whose revenue depends on the trust and on the ethics, such as https://tehnoetic.com/mobile-devices .

Like this exact article/submission that we're all commenting on, where a commercial company did exactly that?

Not exactly. I would not say their revenue depended on ethics...
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