Chinese state-backed experts have found a way to identify people who use Apple’s encrypted AirDrop messaging service, according to the Beijing municipal government.
AirDrop allows users to send content to Apple devices in close proximity without an Internet connection, encoded so they cannot be viewed by other people.
The service was widely used by participants in pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong in 2019 that China’s central government eventually quelled.
Photo: Reuters
Apple also limited file-sharing for Chinese iPhone users in 2022 following protests against the ruling Communist Party’s stringent zero COVID policy.
The Beijing municipal government’s justice bureau said experts at the Beijing Wangshen Dongjian Justice Appraisal Institute in the capital had devised a way to reveal an iPhone’s encrypted device log.
From there, they could identify an AirDrop user’s phone number and e-mail accounts, the statement on the bureau’s Web site said.
It said the technique “cracked the tough technological problem of the transmission of inappropriate information with anonymous traceability via AirDrop.”
The method also “raised the efficacy and accuracy of case detection and resolution, and has effectively helped police ascertain several case suspects.”
The statement did not mention whether the technique had led to any arrests or convictions.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from AFP.
There were widespread reports in late 2022 that people in China were using AirDrop to spread digital leaflets critical of the government.
The transmissions were believed to be partly inspired by a protest in Beijing in which a man hung banners calling for the removal of President Xi Jinping (習近平).
In November of that year, Apple released an AirDrop update that meant users of Apple smartphones in China could only opt-in to receive files from unknown contacts during a 10-minute window before it automatically shuts off. The feature did not previously have a time limit.
The update made it virtually impossible to receive unexpected files from strangers.
Chinese authorities have for years used extensive digital surveillance methods to silence dissent, with most domestic social media apps requiring users to register using their real names.
People must provide proof of identification to purchase SIM cards or install home broadband connections.
Platforms such as Weibo (微博) employ thousands of content moderators and automatically block politically sensitive keywords, such as tennis star Peng Shuai’s (彭帥) name after she accused a senior politician of sexual assault in 2021.
Apple has long faced criticism for making perceived concessions to Xi’s increasingly repressive China.
The company in 2019 removed a Hong Kong map application used by pro-democracy protesters, saying it endangered police, after China warned the tech giant to drop the app.
Apple CEO Tim Cook defended the move at the time, saying the firm had received “credible information” that the app was being used to target individual police officers.
In 2020, Beijing imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong that has all but quashed public dissent in the former British colony.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday obtained the government’s approval to inject an additional US$7.5 billion into its US subsidiary, the Department of Investment Review said in a statement. The department approved TSMC’s application of investing in TSMC Arizona Corp, which is engaged in the manufacturing, sales, testing and design of IC and other semiconductor devices, it said. The latest capital injection follows a US$5 billion investment for TSMC Arizona approved in June. The chipmaker has broken ground on two advanced fabs in Arizona with aggregated investments approved by the department totaling US$24 billion thus far. According to TSMC, the first Arizona
The lethal hack of Hezbollah’s Asian-branded pagers and walkie-talkies has sparked an intense search for the devices’ path, revealing a murky market for older technologies where buyers might have few assurances about what they are getting. While supply chains and distribution channels for higher-margin and newer products are tightly managed, that is not the case for older electronics from Asia where counterfeiting, surplus inventories and complex contract manufacturing deals can sometimes make it impossible to identify the source of a product, analysts and consultants say. The response from the companies at the center of the booby-trapped gadgets that killed 37
FRIENDLY TAKEOVER: While Qualcomm Inc’s proposal to buy some or all of Intel raises the prospect of other competitors, Broadcom Inc is staying on the sidelines Qualcomm Inc has approached Intel Corp to discuss a potential acquisition of the struggling chipmaker, people with knowledge of the matter said, raising the prospect of one of the biggest-ever merger and acquisition deals. California-based Qualcomm proposed a friendly takeover for Intel in recent days, said the sources, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. The proposal is for all of the chipmaker, although Qualcomm has not ruled out buying some parts of Intel and selling off others. It is uncertain whether the initial approach would lead to an agreement and any deal is likely to come under close antitrust scrutiny
SECURITY CONCERNS: The proposed ban on Chinese autonomous vehicle software and hardware would go into effect with the 2027 and 2030 model years respectively The US Department of Commerce today is expected to propose prohibiting Chinese software and hardware in connected and autonomous vehicles on US roads due to national security concerns, two sources said. US President Joe Biden’s administration has raised concerns about the collection of data by Chinese companies on US drivers and infrastructure as well as the potential foreign manipulation of vehicles connected to the Internet and navigation systems. The proposed regulation would ban the import and sale of vehicles from China with key communications or automated driving system software or hardware, said the two sources, who declined to be identified because the