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Chinese State Media Declares iPhone a Threat To National Security
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.
Sigh. How sad it is -we humans- are the very reason why we cannot have nice things.
Emails. Calendar. Email attachments. Apple just got pwned.
Cutthroat competition often manifests this way in china. Cook has his work cut out for him..
Anything coming out of the U.S. is a threat to everybody else's national security.
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?
They're right, it _is_ a privacy/security hole. Most people just don't care. Apparently including me.
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.
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.
I tired to find the original source. Don't see it. Instead all we have is "
A report by broadcaster CCTV criticized the iPhone's "Frequent Locations" function for allowing users to be tracked and information about them revealed.
"This is extremely sensitive data," said a researcher interviewed by the broadcaster. If the data were accessed, it could reveal an entire country's economic situation and "even state secrets," the researcher said."
This is far, far from a government decree. The American equivalent would be an interview on PBS. Other than approving it to air, this has nothing to do with the government. I suspect most Chinese will see right through this, it may even help Apple sales.
The odd thing is that it is actually even likely that it's going to be more secure.
Once I have to turn for a communist country to get freedom I guess it's time to start drinking heavily.
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
The NSA and GCHQ have always wanted more info on China.
Isn't turnabout is fair play?.
China's Growing Spy Threat
But according to analysts and officials, the communist-controlled People’s Republic of China operates the single largest intelligence-gathering apparatus in the world—and its growing appetite for secrets has apparently become insatiable.
From economic and military espionage to keeping tabs on exiled dissidents, China’s global spying operations are rapidly expanding. And, therefore, so is the threat. Some analysts even argue the regime—which is also gobbling up such key natural resources as farmland, energy, and minerals—has an eye on dominating the world.
Estimates on the number of spies and agents employed by the communist state vary widely. According to public statements by French author and investigative journalist Roger Faligot, who has written several books about the regime’s security services, there are around two million Chinese working directly or indirectly for China’s intelligence apparatus.
Other analysts say it would be impossible to count the exact number. ‘I doubt they know themselves,’ says Richard Fisher, a senior fellow on Asian military affairs at the Washington-based International Assessment and Strategy Center. Regardless, the number is undoubtedly extraordinary. ‘China can rightly claim to have the world’s largest, most amorphous, but also most active intelligence sector,’ he says.
Russia, China engaging in industrial espionage
Germany is full of Russian and Chinese spies working to get information about top business and technology developments, according to the country’s domestic intelligence service.
Studies show that the German economy loses around €50 billion a year as a consequence, Burkhard Even, head of the counterintelligence section of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told the audience at a recent security forum in Bonn. . . .
There are around 80,000 Chinese people living in Germany, Even said, many of whom are commercial spies. China is also buying into, or taking over companies completely, in order to get access to new technological developments. . . . . . the Chinese were mostly active in the electronic sector. Some reports suggest the Chinese intelligence services have up to a million agents across the world collecting technical and business data to support their industries.
"It is estimated that at least 20 Foreign intelligence services are operating to some degree against UK interests. Of greatest concern are the Russians and Chinese. The number of Russian intelligence officers in London has not fallen since the Soviet times."
Britain Warned Businesses of Threat of Chinese Spying
Canada a target-rich environment for Chinese spies
Officials say Chinese spies have targeted every sector of the U.S. economy
much of left-wing thought is a kind of playing with fire by people who don't even know that fire is hot - George Orwell
Tracking is separate from recorded and forwarded history of travel. It has always been possible to hire an agent to follow a specific indivdual. This is different from carrying a device which tracks everybody by default at a very low cost.
An external agent to track dumb cellphones is far more complex than having an agent running inside a smart phone. It involves pretty substantial external resources and doesn't easily scale to large populations.
You knew this, I hope, and were just trolling us. Right?
Here is my problem with Apple, Google and Microsoft.
Each vendor is using crowd sourced location / WiFi sniffing / map building excuses to collect location data from everyone. At least one vendor offers no ability to disable crowd sourcing without also preventing GPS from being used.
GPS ASIC's have advanced to the point where standard excuses (uses too much power, takes too long to get a fix, some indoor use) are no longer applicable. This appears to in no way be discouraging vendors from selecting shitty GPS components while propagating excuses which unnecessarily eat into data plans and upload all of your data.
Think of this from the Chinese perspective. Instead of everyone's location data being uploaded to Google or Apple ... what if it was all going to Huawei? Would US officials be comfortable with data about everyone's location constantly uploaded "anonymously" to Huawei?
I think we are all better off if vendors used more capable GPS chips in their handsets and location data is not constantly being uploaded to any single vendor for any reason by default.
And for the record, from a security and privavy standpoint at least, I'll take an iPhone any day over an Android.
I'll take Android ASOP/custom rom over carrier shitware infested Android + Google play services or the iPhone any day.
Amazing how much longer battery lasts when your phone is not constantly violating your privacy and wracking up data usage for stupid reasons.
Being able to track people really could have a negative effect on national security. For example one might determine locations where a lot of people with advanced degrees in physics or know to have special ability in subjects such as high powered lasers congregate. The workplaces of many of these folks could easily be national defense facilities. People know to specialize in encryption might also congregate at certain workplaces. Even purchasing certain books may lead to individuals that an enemy might want to target or even corrupt or kidnap.
The difference is that it is America that is a direct threat to my personal freedom and the personal freedom of much of the world. Remember, for most Americans Constitutional freedoms only apply to American citizens and the rest of us are fair game.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inverted_totalitarianism
What is an I phone ?
-- Richard Stallman