SCI-TECH: That Android Phones From China May Be Spying On You; Transmits Personal Info Without Consent – Researchers Say

 

“We find that these devices come bundled with a number of third-party applications, some of which are granted dangerous runtime permissions by default without user consent, and transmit traffic containing a broad range of geolocation, user-profile and social relationships [personally identifiable information] to both phone vendors and third-party domains, without notifying the user or offering the choice to opt-out”

PEGASUS REPORTERS, LAGOS | FEBRUARY 17, 2023

How to tell if someone is snooping on your Android phone

Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson shows you how to tell if someone is spying on your Android phone activity, and what to do about it.

Pre-installed system apps on Android phones from three popular Chinese vendors, as well as third-party apps, are reportedly transmitting personal user information without notification or consent.

Researchers at universities in the United Kingdom examined the Chinese version of the Android OS distributions run by Xiaomi, Realme and OnePlus headsets, experimenting with a number of devices.

The arXiv paper’s authors measured the network traffic generated by handsets when in use, using static and dynamic code analysis techniques to look at the data transmitted by the reinstalled system apps.

“We find that these devices come bundled with a number of third-party applications, some of which are granted dangerous runtime permissions by default without user consent, and transmit traffic containing a broad range of geolocation, user-profile and social relationships [personally identifiable information] to both phone vendors and third-party domains, without notifying the user or offering the choice to opt-out,” the research showed.

WHY YOU NEED TO DELETE 3 APPS RIGHT NOW IF YOU HAVE AN ANDROID

The packages transmitted to many third-party domains contain privacy-sensitive information related to devices, including GPS coordinates, network-related identifiers, phone numbers, app usage data and call histories.

Comparatively, data shared by the Global version of the firmware was found to be mostly limited to device-specific information, which the computer scientists said sheds light on differences in privacy provision enforcement across separate regions.

Notably, the collection does not stop once the device and user leave China, despite the fact that different countries have different privacy laws.

Furthermore, data was found to be sent to mobile operators even when they were not providing service.

“This poses serious deanonymization and tracking risks that extend outside China when the user leaves the country and calls for a more rigorous enforcement of the recently adopted data privacy legislation,” the study said.

Fox News

Tell us you were here by replying to this story in the comment section below. You can share it, too.

Pegasus Reporters: making news that reaches your audience | Advertise with us! | Join our readers’ list on Telegram (+234 813 308 8344) Follow us on Twitter @pegasusreporter | We are on Facebook; The PegasusReporters | Chat with us on WhatsApp (+234 815 444 5334) | Download “Pegasus Reporters” App on Google Play Store | Contact the Editor, Mallam Oyakhamoh Y. Carl-Abu’Bakar with your adverts or articles via pegasusreporters@gmail.com or editor@pegasusreporters.com

Read Our Preceding Post: Naira Note Swap: State Broadcast by Malam Nasir El-Rufai, Governor of Kaduna State, 16th February 2023.