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

New York Times ^ | November 15, 2016 | By MATT APUZZO and MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT

[Swordmaker]

Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages.

WASHINGTON — For about $50, you can get a smartphone with a high-definition display, fast data service and, according to security contractors, a secret feature: a backdoor that sends all your text messages to China every 72 hours.

Security contractors recently discovered preinstalled software in some Android phones that monitors where users go, whom they talk to and what they write in text messages. The American authorities say it is not clear whether this represents secretive data mining for advertising purposes or a Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.

International customers and users of disposable or prepaid phones are the people most affected by the software. But the scope is unclear. The Chinese company that wrote the software, Shanghai Adups Technology Company, says its code runs on more than 700 million phones, cars and other smart devices. One American phone manufacturer, BLU Products, said that 120,000 of its phones had been affected and that it had updated the software to eliminate the feature.

Kryptowire, the security firm that discovered the vulnerability, said the Adups software transmitted the full contents of text messages, contact lists, call logs, location information and other data to a Chinese server. The code comes preinstalled on phones and the surveillance is not disclosed to users, said Tom Karygiannis, a vice president of Kryptowire, which is based in Fairfax, Va. “Even if you wanted to, you wouldn’t have known about it,” he said.

[Swordmaker]

Ping for your lists. . . Some Android phones have built in spyware.

[ThunderSleeps]

Mostly pre-pay and no-contract phones, but still worrisome - ANDROID PING!
Android Ping! If you want on or off the Android Ping List, Freepmail me.

[arl295]

They can do this through Apps

visits through websites

zillions of ways to accomplish this

nothing is secret or secured if it on the web

But the Chinese probably won’t find my grocery list all that interesting

Unless they think bread, milk, eggs are secret code for nuclear weapons haha

[Talisker]

Unless they think bread, milk, eggs are secret code for nuclear weapons haha

Why would you need to write such common things down?

You wouldn't.

And then to mention it on the net - is a communication.

Combined with your mysterious alphanumeric username, it's easily a code.

Expect a visit... comrade...

[arl295]

Haha

The last time the feds had to pay me a visit, they had to ask me for directions to my place

Not a bright group, that is one thing for sure

[Sirius Lee]

The Chineeseses are going to find out that I spend too much time on FR and looking at the weather satellite and seem to be very keen on buying another BMW motorcycle.

[antidisestablishment]

All cellphones have built-in spyware; it’s just a matter of who, and how many have your data.

[arl295]

I never heard of a BLU cell phone manufacturer

I guess they sell these at those knockoff electronics stores in Queens....

[odawg]

I can very quickly resolve the mystery. It is: “Chinese government effort to collect intelligence.”

Does anyone with at least a room temperature IQ not think that the Chinese government relies heavily on spying across the whole spectrum of human interaction and would not pass up an opportunity to bug the technology that Americans are stupid enough to trust them with in its production?

[ConservativeMind]

“...and that it had updated the software to eliminate the feature.”

So, it’s not malware or a bug, but something positive now being removed...