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Chinese State Media Declares iPhone a Threat To National Security

Posted by Soulskill on from the fruit-ninja-must-have-cause-a-lot-of-traffic-deaths dept.

MojoKid writes: "When NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden came forth last year with U.S. government spying secrets, it didn't take long to realize that some of the information revealed could bring on serious repercussions — not just for the U.S. government, but also for U.S.-based companies. The latest to feel the hit? None other than Apple, and in a region the company has been working hard to increase market share: China. China, via state media, has today declared that Apple's iPhone is a threat to national security — all because of its thorough tracking capabilities. It has the ability to keep track of user locations, and to the country, this could potentially reveal "state secrets" somehow. It's being noted that the iPhone will continue to track the user to some extent even if the overall feature is disabled. China's iPhone ousting comes hot on the heels of Russia's industry and trade deeming AMD and Intel processors to be untrustworthy. The nation will instead be building its own ARM-based "Baikal" processor.

5 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. Not just iPhone by xfizik · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Anything coming out of the U.S. is a threat to everybody else's national security.

  2. You have only yourself to blame... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Dear China: YOU BUILT IT. I think if it was a problem, you'd have mentioned something before now...

    And do you really want to push the "national security" button on the iPhone, of all things?
    How much money does manufacturing those beautiful little bits of Americana add to your bottom line?
    I notice you're not complaining about Samsung, or any of your own local phones. How much less do they track people?

    1. Re:You have only yourself to blame... by ShanghaiBill · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Dear China: YOU BUILT IT. I think if it was a problem, you'd have mentioned something before now...

      China only does assembly. They do not design the chips, and they do not write the software.

  3. pot and kettle by DoofusOfDeath · · Score: 4, Insightful

    China is right: the iPhone is a gaping security hole.

    I also have little doubt that their "solution" will also be a gaping security hole, except that it will be designed so only China's intelligence services can exploit it.

  4. Re:Seriously, an iphone? by gizmo2199 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    IDK, a smartphone is the perfect spying machine.

    Not only do people keep their whole lives on their phone, email, pictures, documents, passwords, social media accounts, but the same device is fully portable, has a GPS receiver, picks up and connects to open wifi APs, has a microphone, and accelerometer.

    So you can find out what your target is up to, what he's planning, who he's talking to, where he is, and how fast he's moving, and by extension you get acces to his digital life.

    --
    This Sig does not Exist.