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A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

38north.org

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Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#71

Post by cyphar »

cryptarch wrote: post #67
cyphar wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As an aside, not all Android ROMs operate in that way. I'm currently using OmniROM with microG, and none of my information is linked to a Google account (specifically on this phone). All of my contacts and calendar are synced with my NextCloud server using DAVDroid, and I use AOSP or other FDroid-approved apps to access my email, contacts and calendar. Now, all of that being said that's not to say that the current st…

You have a choice here if you're tech savy and a ROM is available for your specific baseband. I've so far been unlucky with my S6 because I have a rather obscure baseband. I'm not saying it's anywhere near as bad as living in NK, but the "open" option is not at all known or available to what I'd estimate at 95+% of the population, and many fewer will actually use it.

Don't get me wrong, the "open" option is complete shit at the moment. The fact that Replicant (and _actually_ free Android distribution) supports so few devices (and has so many caveats) is horrifying. There is effectively no way to use a modern smartphone and also exercise your software freedoms.

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#72

Post by dingaling »

ioulian wrote: post #65
fluxem wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, basically Android? Except, you don't get shot in the back. With Android, it automatically syncs Contacts and photos to the "Cloud", unless you disable it. But, you cannot do it 100%, because it's turn on by default when you first sign in. Also, it's not a secret that Google logs your locations history.

I don't fully understand that this comment is downvoted. He has a point there. We are all being tracked, just see your history [1] on the google website. It tracks the websites you've visited, the video's you've watched, music I've played, things I've searched, App's I've used (Camera for example), directions I've searched (google maps), ads I've seen, cards in my feed (google now), my location history (actually very…

The difference being that an informed Android user can disable all that logging, or at the very least prevent it being relayed to Google. I don't even have a Google account yet have four fully-functional Android devices nearby.

The penalty for attempting that with the North Korean tablet is going to be rather more severe than "can't say OK Google to do a web search".

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#73

Post by Heliosmaster »

dingaling wrote: post #72
ioulian wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't fully understand that this comment is downvoted. He has a point there. We are all being tracked, just see your history [1] on the google website. It tracks the websites you've visited, the video's you've watched, music I've played, things I've searched, App's I've used (Camera for example), directions I've searched (google maps), ads I've seen, cards in my feed (google now), my location history (actually very…

The difference being that an informed Android user can disable all that logging, or at the very least prevent it being relayed to Google. I don't even have a Google account yet have four fully-functional Android devices nearby. The penalty for attempting that with the North Korean tablet is going to be rather more severe than "can't say OK Google to do a web search".

I don't disagree with you, but i think that technically we're still trusting Google to not collect it anymore. I don't see it anything other than "Please google do not track this". Are we able to verify 100% that data is still not being collected?

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#75

Post by a_imho »

fluxem wrote: post #47
leggomylibro wrote: post #35

This is a terrifying manifestation of what technology makes trivially possible. This device: * Logs every app and web page that you open. * Keeps forensics on shared files based on hashes, to track networks of like-minded dissidents or individuals sharing similar files. * Refuses to open any files which are not signed by either the government, or the device which created the file. (e.g. photos can be viewed only on t…

So, basically Android? Except, you don't get shot in the back. With Android, it automatically syncs Contacts and photos to the "Cloud", unless you disable it. But, you cannot do it 100%, because it's turn on by default when you first sign in. Also, it's not a secret that Google logs your locations history.

Too true. Shows how long a bit of marketing goes.

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#76

Post by SXX »

raulk wrote: post #68

The North Korean developers who worked on this must be privileged beings with access to the open Internet. I can't imagine developing such a complex system without documentation and references. Maybe they even hang out in Stack Overflow...

There is good chance it's actually developed by developers seating somewhere in Bay Area working for some VC-funded company with inconspicuous name.

After all there is a lot of commercial surveillance software that sold to authoritarian regimes. Of course that doesn't mean someone work directly with NK.

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#77

Post by Kluny »

Heliosmaster wrote: post #73
dingaling wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The difference being that an informed Android user can disable all that logging, or at the very least prevent it being relayed to Google. I don't even have a Google account yet have four fully-functional Android devices nearby. The penalty for attempting that with the North Korean tablet is going to be rather more severe than "can't say OK Google to do a web search".

I don't disagree with you, but i think that technically we're still trusting Google to not collect it anymore. I don't see it anything other than "Please google do not track this". Are we able to verify 100% that data is still not being collected?

You use a packet sniffer to see all your local network traffic and make sure you can account for every request.

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#78

Post by cyphar »

averagewall wrote: post #37
sleepingeights wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

These people are insane. > And if North Korea ever does change, if the Kim family were overthrown or were to voluntarily loosen its chokehold on information, a U.S. apology for the bombing could help dispel 65 years of hate. Consider the response of white americans in the US after the Imperial Japanese bombed a military force in Pearl Harbor, with almost zero civilian casualties. It quickly became common sentiment in…

But what if they hadn't? Japan was invading most of Asia with mass killings along the lines of ISIS and the Nazis. Are you saying ISIS should also be left alone and America not try to stop them? Japanese civilians at the time weren't really innocent. The whole country was working for the war effort, mainly to kill other Asian people.

> Are you saying ISIS should also be left alone and America not try to stop them?

As someone who isn't from America (and actually was born in a country which was subsequently bombed by America during peace time) I've never understood this idea that America is somehow justified in the belief that they are the moral arbiters of the world.

Who put you in charge? If the answer involves "we have a big military" it's interesting that a country obsessed with the concept of freedom is so willing fall back on "empire" when it's convenient. I guess Americans are still British at heart.

> Japanese civilians at the time weren't really innocent.

This sentence made my blood boil. How fucking dare you. America bombing civilian residences in order to handle other country's civil wars is not helping anyone. Fuck you.

> The whole country was working for the war effort, mainly to kill other Asian people.

Interesting rhetoric, given that America spends half a fucking TRILLION dollars a year on the military.

Re: A Closer Look at North Korea’s Ullim Tablet

#79

Post by tokenizerrr »

ioulian wrote: post #65
fluxem wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, basically Android? Except, you don't get shot in the back. With Android, it automatically syncs Contacts and photos to the "Cloud", unless you disable it. But, you cannot do it 100%, because it's turn on by default when you first sign in. Also, it's not a secret that Google logs your locations history.

I don't fully understand that this comment is downvoted. He has a point there. We are all being tracked, just see your history [1] on the google website. It tracks the websites you've visited, the video's you've watched, music I've played, things I've searched, App's I've used (Camera for example), directions I've searched (google maps), ads I've seen, cards in my feed (google now), my location history (actually very…

Keep in mind that you're comparing an oppressive regime with... android. The open source phone operating system. And you think this is a sensible comparison?
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